Evidence of meeting #103 for Health in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was products.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
After the regulations are made and in force, what is the process for amending them should people feel that they need to be amended?
Director General, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health
That can happen as well. It would go through a very formal consultation process in terms of opening them up and revising them.
We recently did that. An example is our nutrition facts table.
Hasan, those regulations were promulgated back in, what, the early 2000s?
Dr. Hasan Hutchinson Director General, Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health
Originally, yes.
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
I'm interested in who can initiate such a review and such an amendment. Can industry say, “Listen, this is a problem”?
Director General, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health
Yes. As new information becomes available, we certainly can take those steps to open up regs and revise them.
Conservative
Ben Lobb Conservative Huron—Bruce, ON
I think we're all pretty clear at this point about how the process works, when it's through regulation and the gazetting process. Many of us would have gone through it in some way, shape, or form through the years.
I understand there is a regulatory process and the officials at Health Canada will do their due diligence. My point is that we will have members of Parliament voting on a private member's bill about which they do not have definition of “unhealthy food”. We've already heard that. We've heard that from officials, we've heard that from experts, that we do not know the definition of unhealthy food. I would have said at the very least we should know that before we vote on it. If I had known what the exact definition of unhealthy food was, maybe I'd be supporting this bill, but I have no idea. Maybe an apple is unhealthy. I don't know. I doubt it would be deemed unhealthy, but I'm just making that as my point.
Second, I would go back to one word in the bill; it raises my eyebrow. It was in clause 5 and it says “in a manner that is primarily directed at children”. It doesn't say it has to be only directed at children, it says “primarily directed at children”. Any legalese would tell you that “primarily” means something much different from “definitively”. That could be a concern down the road. I don't know.
Anyhow, vote away, vote often, but do know that you're voting for something that isn't defined and it isn't costed, if that makes you feel any better.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
All in favour of LIB-3, the amendment to the preamble?
(Amendment agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Shall the preamble carry as amended?
Liberal
Liberal
Ron McKinnon Liberal Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam, BC
Don't we normally have to approve a motion to have it printed and distributed?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
No, it's a Senate bill. It doesn't have to be. It's already done.
We're going to take a break and were going to bring our new panel in.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bill Casey
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), a study of premixed drinks with high alcohol, caffeine, and sugar content will be undertaken by this committee.
We have three panels today. We're going to have one session of seven-minute questions. Then we're going to change panel, and then we're going to change panels again.
With us, from the Department of Health, we have Karen McIntyre, Director General, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch; and Barbara Lee, Director, Bureau of Chemical Safety, Food Directorate.
I offer you a five-minute opening statement to tell us about this.
Director General, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health
Thank you very much, Chair, for the opportunity to be here today to discuss the issues surrounding highly sweetened, high-alcoholic beverages sold in large-format, single-serve containers.
Health Canada is concerned about the health risk posed by these types of alcoholic beverages. These products have been specifically designed to appeal to young people and can contain up to four standard alcoholic drinks in a single-serve container. This can promote over-consumption with serious risks to health and safety.
Taking action on this issue is a priority for the department. On March 19, Health Canada issued a notice of intent outlining a regulatory proposal to amend the Food and Drugs Act and regulations to restrict the amount of alcohol in these types of products. We intend to limit the number of standard alcoholic drinks contained in alcoholic beverages that are highly sweetened, high in alcohol, and sold in large-volume single-serve containers, by consulting on two specific issues.
First, we are seeking input on the mechanism to restrict the amount of alcohol. This could be achieved by limiting the maximum size of the container or by limiting the percentage of alcohol in a single-serve container.
Second, we are seeking views on the sweetness threshold that would trigger those restrictions. This proposal is not intended to capture liqueurs, dessert wines, and other sweet alcoholic beverages that are sold in resealable containers.
This consultation is open until May 8.
We have been actively engaging with our provincial and territorial governments. This is important, given that the oversight of alcohol is shared by federal, provincial, and territorial governments.
We are also seeking stakeholder views on other measures around advertising, marketing, and labelling that could be taken to reduce the risk related to these products.
In fact, just this morning Health Canada convened a meeting with the provinces and territories on this issue and discussed the scope of the problem within their jurisdictions. We are also monitoring actions proposed by the Quebec government and will also be convening a meeting with governments, health stakeholders, and industry at the end of this month.
Input from public consultations and experts will be carefully considered as we develop our regulatory approach. We are aiming to introduce new regulations in the fall of 2018.
To effectively manage the risk associated with these types of products, it is important to understand that the oversight of alcohol is shared by federal, provincial, and territorial governments.
At the federal level, the food and drug regulations contain standards for different categories of alcohol, such as beer, wine, and spirits. The Food and Drugs Act also contains general prohibitions against deceptive marketing of foods, including alcoholic beverages.
Provinces and territories control how alcoholic beverages are accessed and sold and can also set out additional requirements around labelling and advertising.
Alcohol beverage marketing is largely self-regulated and is primarily governed by the code for broadcast advertising of alcoholic beverages set by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the CRTC. The code imposes content restrictions on alcohol broadcasting advertising, including restrictions on advertising to youth and on the promotion of alcohol consumption. Compliance with the CRTC advertising rules is under the purview of Advertising Standards Canada. However, the CRTC code is voluntary and does not have the force of law.
Given the committee's interest in the issue of caffeine and alcohol, I would also like to take a moment to clarify a few details regarding caffeine in these types of beverages.
First of all, the product that was linked to the tragic incident in Quebec was reported in the media as an alcoholic, caffeinated energy drink. This is incorrect.
Second, under the food and drug regulations, Health Canada does not permit the addition of caffeine to alcoholic beverages other than caffeine that is naturally present in flavouring ingredients such as coffee, chocolate, and guarana. The amount of caffeine that these flavouring ingredients contribute to an alcoholic beverage is very low.
For example, a serving of coffee contains up to 180 mg of caffeine in an eight-ounce cup. When CFIA tested samples of the Quebec product, the amount of caffeine was found to be very low, less than 5 mg per can.
Third, caffeinated energy drinks can only be sold under certain conditions. For example, they cannot contain any alcohol and they must carry precautionary warnings. These warnings include a statement on the label that identifies the product as a high source of caffeine, a warning not to mix with alcohol, and a statement that the product is not recommended for children or for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
In conclusion, Health Canada is very concerned about the amount of alcohol found in these highly sweetened beverages sold in single-serve containers and aggressively marketed in a way that appeals to young people and promotes over-consumption.
The public health risks associated with these products can only be effectively mitigated through a combination of measures by federal, provincial, and territorial governments. We are taking action, and together we can reduce the risks to the health and safety of Canadians.
The department is also looking forward to the outcomes of this committee's study.
Thank you very much.
Liberal
Ramez Ayoub Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to thank the witnesses for being here today.
I'm going to put on the timer just to make sure I have the full seven minutes.
Thank you for appearing before our committee to discuss an issue that affected Quebec a few weeks ago when young Athéna Gervais died accidentally. Unfortunately, it is this incident that has brought us to taking the time to address the problem of sugary, high-alcohol drinks. It's an unfortunate incident, but at least it is getting us to take time to look at this issue. I won't go into details like the caffeine content or high concentration of sugar or alcohol. I don't want to talk about the way these drinks are made, but rather the approval of Health Canada.
How can products like this make their way to stores?
I know the responsibilities are split between the provincial and federal governments, but we're here to study the federal government's role. How can the federal government act quickly?
On the provincial side, we've seen that a stream of regulations were quickly established following this unfortunate accident. So, in other words, it's possible to react quickly.
How is it that we're taking so much time? Personally, I would like things to move a little more quickly to prevent an accident caused by excessive drinking of such a product.
In short, how can products like this get to stores? What can Health Canada do to prevent an accident like this from happening again?
Director General, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health
In Health Canada, changing regulations does take some time. However, in order to help reduce the risks associated with these types of products, Health Canada immediately issued an information update reminding Canadians, especially young adults, of the risks associated with drinking large-volume, single-serve beverages that are high in alcohol. That was issued on March 9. Shortly afterwards, on March 19, we issued a notice of intent, or an NOI, to amend the food and drug regulations to restrict the amount of alcohol in single-serve, highly sweetened and flavoured, high-alcohol beverages.
As I mentioned in my opening remarks, we're currently consulting on that. That consultation period will end on May 8. Then we will begin to draft the regulations.
Liberal
Ramez Ayoub Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC
You say that you are consulting the public, but is it the general public for information purposes or experts who will make recommendations to the minister so that new regulations can be established?
Director General, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch, Department of Health
Both. The NOI is open to all Canadians. It includes experts. It includes key stakeholders, health professionals. Anyone is welcome to provide comments, and we give due consideration to everything we receive.
The other thing we're doing is we are meeting with our provinces to discuss the issue more broadly in terms of experiences in provinces and territories. We also will be meeting, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, with the industry as well as health professionals at the end of May to talk about additional measures that can be taken in order to help mitigate this health and safety issue.