Effective January 1, 2022, exporters and processing establishments that export to China need to comply with two new Chinese regulations for imported food and overseas food establishments: Decree 248: Regulations on the Registration and Administration of Overseas Producers of Imported Food and Decree 249: Administrative Measures on Import and Export Food Safety.

As part of China’s registration requirements, foreign establishments or vessels involved in the production, processing, or storage of any food product exported to China must be registered in the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) online China Import Food Enterprise Registration (CIFER) system.

GACC has added information for currently registered Canadian establishments into the CIFER system and has also provided the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) with usernames and passwords that are unique to each establishment. Considering the information is confidential, the CFIA will contact each company individually over the next couple of weeks. Establishments that will be contacted include:

• ‘high risk’ commodities (fish and seafood, meat and dairy) currently on China’s eligibility list; and
• ‘medium risk’ commodities that provided their information in October 2021, which was submitted by CFIA to GACC, China.

Attention: This information will be sent via email, from the CFIA to establishments, using the contact details provided to the CFIA through the MyCFIA enrollment process. For those companies that registered in October (medium risk commodities), the CFIA will use the contact information submitted at that time.

Action Required: When usernames and passwords have been received, establishments will be required to reset their password once they have logged into the system for the first time. Establishments will also need to verify the accuracy of information in the system and make corrections as needed.

If your establishment falls into one of the categories indicated above and you have not received the email with your establishment-specific information by February 21, 2022, please contact the MAS (aafc.mas-sam.aac@agr.gc.ca) account with a copy (c.c.) to the CFIA Food Export email account FE-AE@inspection.gc.ca.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new video that provides an overview of the 2021 Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act. The FASTER Act, among other things, adds sesame to the list of major food allergens effective January 1, 2023. The video includes basic information about the FASTER Act and helps answer frequently asked questions the FDA has received from the food industry and other stakeholders.

The video also includes information about:

• US food allergen requirements.
• How major food allergens are defined.
• The FDA’s implementation of the FASTER Act.

Food allergies and other types of food hypersensitivities affect millions of people living in the US. To protect those with food allergies and other food hypersensitivities, the FDA enforces laws requiring food manufacturers to specify ingredients that are major food allergens on the labels of packaged foods and beverages. The FDA also enforces regulations that require food manufactures to prevent allergen cross-contact (the unintentional incorporation of a major food allergen into a food).

Clarifying food allergen requirements for industry is part of the FDA’s safety measures to help protect consumers from ingredients and foods they may be allergic to without overly restricting food choices.

For Additional Information:

• Food Allergies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed a new rule to amend regulation (21 CFR 170.105) on how and when the FDA may determine that a pre-market notification for a food contact substance is no longer effective. A list of effective food contact notifications (FCNs) can be found on FDA’s website.

If finalized, the proposed rule would, among other things, allow the FDA additional flexibility in how it determines that an FCN is no longer effective and help ensure that FDA’s inventory of effective FCNs is current based on use and safety. Primarily, this rule would enable the FDA to determine that an FCN is no longer effective when the manufacturer discontinues its use based on reasons other than safety, for example, they no longer produce, supply, or use the food contact substance. In addition, the rule would give manufacturers or suppliers an opportunity to provide input before the FDA determines that an FCN is no longer effective. The proposed rule would also increase the FDA’s ability to reduce redundancy across FCNs, food additive regulations, and threshold of regulation exemptions. The FDA will continue to have the ability to revoke authorizations if, based on new information, they are no longer able to conclude that there is a reasonable certainty of no harm from the authorized use, or take other steps to ensure the protection of public health.

Food additives, including food contact substances, require pre-market review and authorization for their intended use. A “food contact substance” is any substance intended for use as a component of materials used in manufacturing, packing, packaging, transporting, or holding food if such use is not intended to have any technical effect in such food. Manufacturers must notify the FDA of their intent to use a food contact substance via a food contact substance notification (FCN). The FDA has 120 days to complete its review of the scientific data to ensure the food contact substance is safe for its intended use. If the FDA does not object within 120 days, the FCN becomes “effective” (i.e., the use is authorized). FCNs are manufacturer specific and therefore, there are currently multiple FCNs for the same food contact substance with the same intended use. Examples of uses include coatings, plastics, paper, adhesives, antimicrobials, and antioxidants contained in or on food packaging and processing equipment.

For more information, including deadlines for submitting comments to the proposed rule, please see the Federal Register Notice.

News from AAFC Market Access Secretariat

Please be aware the European Union has notified the World Trade Organization that they intend to reduce the maximum levels permitted for mercury found in certain types of fish, seafood, food supplements and salt. You can familiarize yourself with the changes by following the links below:

Draft Commission Regulation (EU) amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of mercury in fish and salt (Text with EEA relevance).

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/SPS/EU/21_7732_00_e.pdf

https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/SPS/EU/21_7732_01_e.pdf

Description of content: The draft Regulation lowers existing maximum levels for mercury in cephalopods, marine gastropods and muscle meat of certain fish species, for which EU MLs are currently established under Regulation (EC) No 629/2008 and Regulation (EU) No 420/2011, and it establishes a new maximum level for mercury in salt.

As with all WTO notifications, Canada has the opportunity to comment within 60 days of the notification. If you have concerns about G/SPS/N/EU/526, please email aafc.mas-sam.aac@agr.gc.ca by January 28th, 2022 to have your comments taken into account.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced, on January 10th, in a letter of enforcement discretion that it does not intend to object to the use of certain qualified health claims regarding the consumption of magnesium and a reduced risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), provided that the claims are appropriately worded to avoid misleading consumers and other factors for the use of the claim are met.

The FDA responded to a health claim petition submitted on behalf of The Center for Magnesium Education and Research, LLC. The petition requested that the FDA authorize a health claim about the relationship between the consumption of magnesium and a reduced risk of high blood pressure. A health claim characterizes the relationship between a substance and a disease or health-related condition.

After reviewing the petition and other evidence related to the proposed health claim, the FDA determined that the totality of the scientific evidence supports a qualified health claim on the relationship between magnesium and a reduced risk of high blood pressure in conventional foods and dietary supplements. This letter also discusses the factors that the FDA intends to consider in the exercise of its enforcement discretion for the use of a qualified health claim in both conventional foods and dietary supplements and about the relationship between the consumption of magnesium and a reduced risk of high blood pressure (hypertension).

The following qualified health claims for conventional foods and dietary supplements are included in the FDA’s letter of enforcement discretion:

• “Inconsistent and inconclusive scientific evidence suggests that diets with adequate magnesium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), a condition associated with many factors.”
• “Consuming diets with adequate magnesium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension). However, the FDA has concluded that the evidence is inconsistent and inconclusive.”
• “Some scientific evidence suggests that diets with adequate magnesium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), a condition associated with many factors. The FDA has concluded that the scientific evidence supporting this claim is inconsistent and not conclusive.”

For More Information:

• Qualified Health Claims