Health committee  Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for the question. We have indeed seen the report that was published, I believe a week ago or so, from the University of Saskatchewan rating the food safety systems internationally. We were very much interested in the methodology according to

Health committee  That is correct. I guess the report highlighted strength in the area of our food safety systems, in particular our ability to address food recalls and our ability to investigate food safety incidents and address those. The report noted, however, as you mentioned, issues associate

Health committee  Thank you. Yes, we noted the way the report showed the traceability issues. Again, those traceability issues really are related to the production systems themselves, and that is being currently discussed, actually, as part of our federal-provincial-territorial discussions on food

Health committee  In the overall policy direction, that's definitely one of the considerations we have, yes.

Health committee  I would just mention that the information Health Canada has is that there were previously some restrictions in some jurisdictions, specifically Norway, around the sales of these products. Our understanding is that more recently those restrictions were lifted.

Health committee  Yes, definitely. When we look at the potential effects of caffeine, we're looking at this issue more holistically, and really, at all the different sources of caffeine, and definitely those sources, as you indicated, some of those drinks that are based on coffee or on tea. Iced t

Health committee  Health Canada did not recommend that carbonated drinks be consumed...

Health committee  I am repeating Health Canada's recommendation. The Canada Food Guide recommends that we opt for other drinks as our beverages of choice. That being said, those who choose to consume carbonated drinks containing caffeine should monitor their daily caffeine dietary intake. The id

Health committee  Are you talking about the presence of caffeine in food in general? The presence of caffeine in food in general is addressed in consumption studies. It was taken into consideration when we conducted our exposure analysis. Before permitting caffeine to be added to carbonated drinks

Health committee  Again, this question is about Red Bull and energy drinks, so I'm going to ask my colleague, Michelle Boudreau, the director general of the natural health products directorate, to answer your question.

Health committee  We're talking about carbonated soft drinks, right?

Health committee  Carbonated soft drinks are considered to be foods and will continue to be regulated as such. They are represented to consumers as foods and they have been consumed mostly in order to quench thirst.

Health committee  Red Bull is carbonated, but that's a different category of product. That's the typical energy drink and that's what is regulated currently as a natural health product.

Health committee  There's actually constant discussion about that. Essentially, our objective is to look at the most effective regulatory framework that would allow the safe use of these products, so it is under consideration.

Health committee  Not necessarily on adverse effects, but we have information about the levels of caffeine in those beverages. Those were taken into consideration in the overall assessment to look at the caffeine intake.