Health Canada to set limits on ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages

Health Canada has published Notice of Proposal, amending the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterants in Food to include the limit of ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages in the list.

As part of Health Canada's initiative toward regulatory modernization detailed in the Path Forward for Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods, the Directorate is consolidating all MLs into the single regulatory List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods while systematically reviewing and updating these MLs as they are transferred from one list to the other.

Food contaminants and other adulterating substances are chemicals that may be present in foods at levels that could impact the overall safety and/or quality of foods. These substances can either be inadvertently or naturally present in foods or, in some cases, intentionally added for fraudulent purposes. Establishing a prohibition or a maximum level (ML) is a form of risk management that may be employed to eliminate or reduce exposure to a particular chemical contaminant in foods. Canadian prohibitions and MLs for chemical contaminants in food are set out in Part 1 and Part 2, respectively, of the List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances in Foods, which is incorporated by reference into section B.15.001 of Division 15 of the Food and Drug Regulations. Maximum levels for contaminants are also set out in Health Canada's administrative (non-regulatory) List of Maximum Levels for Various Chemical Contaminants in Foods. All prohibitions and MLs for contaminants in food are established by Health Canada's Food and Nutrition Directorate based on scientific evidence, in consultation with stakeholders and are enforceable by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

For further information (in English), click on the Link