Regulatory
REGULATORY NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 6, 2023
Food Allergy Canada has been recognized as one of the winners of the 2023 Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Awards for “Best Allergy Support Non-Profit Organization” by Global Health & Pharma Magazine (GHP)! The updated Guidance on the WHMIS supplier requirements (formerly known as the “Technical Guidance”) is now available on Canada.ca. Health Canada and the CFIA are proposing a significant number of amendments to bring flexibility and coherence to a number of provisions under Part B of the FDR. The proposed amendments would include modernized regulatory frameworks for setting and updating rules pertaining to food compositional standards, microbiological criteria and methods of analysis. This would include the incorporation by reference of certain aspects of these rules, which in turn would enable Health Canada and the CFIA to help ensure rules better respond to new and emerging science, technology, market innovation and/or risks to health. Health Canada has updated the permitted uses for amaranth to reduce the possibility of excessive dietary exposure to this food colour, while continuing to allow uses of interest to the food industry. The update was done by modifying the List of Permitted Colouring Agents as described in the information document referenced below, effective November 3, 2023. This bulletin contains important information about federal regulatory requirements, changes and updates pertaining to hazardous waste management. Health Canada’s public consultation on the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act will inform the second legislative review of the Act and help shape the future of tobacco control in Canada. The consultation has been extended in order to receive more of your valuable feedback, and is now open until November 17, 2023. This is to remind you of the coming into effect of the regulatory limits for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) for the manufacture and import of products in Canada listed in schedules 1 and 2 of the Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations (the Regulations). The regulatory limits will come into effect on January 1, 2024, for all product categories, except disinfectants, whose limits come into effect on January 1, 2025. This bulletin is to assist shippers and carriers transporting soils contaminated with flammable liquids such as crude oil, gasoline and diesel to comply with the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations. Soil contaminated with flammable liquids is generally classified as Class 4.1, Flammable Solids, as it may be readily combustible.
As part of these efforts, a working group is developing a new audit instrument called the Complexity-Based Scalable Audit (CBSA). The CBSA is intended to replace the current standard COR and Small Employer Certificate of Recognition (SECOR) audits and will be developed in several phases over the next three years. A change has been made to the OHS Online Incident Reporting (OIR) form, which is used by prime contractors – or employers, if there is no prime contractor – to report some incidents to Alberta OHS. Through the Excellence in Agriculture program, the Ontario government is celebrating 25 exceptional farmers, food processors, organizations, businesses and Indigenous communities who are driving Ontario’s agriculture and food industry forward. A recent court case illustrates how a seemingly straightforward material handling task can lead to a serious workplace injury, a conviction, and a $50,000 fine for an employer for failing to take reasonable precautions to protect a worker, as required by the Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA). The Ontario government has announced that the average premium rate businesses pay to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) will remain steady in 2024. WorkSafeNB continuously reviews and updates our policies to ensure they are relevant. We welcome and value your feedback in shaping the future of workplace health and safety. To contribute to WorkSafeNB policies, please use our feedback forms to provide suggestions on how we can improve our policies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend our regulations to revoke the authorization for the use of brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in food. This action is being taken because there is no longer a reasonable certainty of no harm from the continued use of BVO in food. Specifically, the proposed rule would revoke the authorization for the use of BVO as a food ingredient intended to stabilize flavoring oils in fruit-flavored beverages. There are no authorizations for other uses of BVO in food. Comments must be received by January 17, 2024. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend its prior notice regulations to add a requirement that the prior notice for articles of food arriving by international mail include the name of the mail service and a mail tracking number and add a requirement that prior notice and food facility registration information be submitted within a certain timeframe, after certain notices of refusal or hold have been issued (“post-refusal” and “post-hold” submission). The FDA is also proposing certain technical changes, including those that reflect expanded capabilities of the Automated Broker Interface/Automated Commercial Environment/International Trade Data System (ABI/ACE/ITDS) and the Prior Notice Systems Interface (PNSI). Effective December 4, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the color additive regulations to provide for the safe use of jagua (genipin-glycine) blue as a color additive in various food categories at levels consistent with good manufacturing practice (GMP). The FDA is taking this action in response to a color additive petition (CAP) submitted by Exponent, Inc. on behalf of Ecoflora SAS (Ecoflora). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is providing an update on ongoing activities related to the new cosmetic product facility registration and cosmetic product listing mandated by the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). The Portable Fuel Container Safety Act of 2020 (PFCSA) provides that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission) must promulgate a rule to require flame mitigation devices in portable fuel containers that impede the propagation of flame into the container, unless the Commission determines that there is a voluntary standard for flame mitigation devices that achieves the same result. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to prohibit all manufacture (including import), processing, and distribution in commerce of TCE and industrial and commercial use of TCE for all uses, with longer compliance timeframes and workplace controls for certain processing and industrial and commercial uses (including proposed phaseouts and time-limited exemptions); prohibit the disposal of TCE to industrial pre-treatment, industrial treatment, or publicly owned treatment works, with a time-limited exemption for cleanup projects; and establish recordkeeping and downstream notification requirements. As part of the celebrations for the 120th anniversary of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) and the 60th anniversary of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the IDF Standing Committee for Standards of Identity and Labelling (SCSIL) and the Codex Secretariat are organizing the webinar “Implementing Codex Standards: case studies on the General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms (GSUDT)”. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has now published all 5 642 contributions received from the public to the proposal to restrict per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the EEA. They are compiled in 123 Word files that can be accessed through an index spreadsheet providing an overview of the feedback. We do not publish information that has been marked as confidential by the consultee. Safety Share Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that – through prolonged exposure at elevated levels – can take a serious toll on a person’s health. In fact, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers and is responsible for the deaths of over 3,000 people in Canada per year. Have an event you would like to share? Please send details to [email protected]. IHSA welcomes you to join us via Zoom for the second annual NCSO®/NHSA™ Educational Conference on Thursday, Nov. 23rd at 8:00 a.m. This half-day event will provide NCSO/NHSAs with an opportunity to increase their knowledge of relevant health and safety topics and learn more about some of the key areas important to maintaining their NCSO®/NHSA™ status. As Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada begins to organize logistics around the Wrap-up Conference, we ask that parties interested in attending please reply to this message by September 8, 2023 email to: [email protected] The Forum is an annual event and brings together scientists and public and private stakeholders with expertise on endocrine disruptors to exchange information and best practices, identify challenges and build synergies. This year the Forum will include sessions on regulatory updates by the European Commission and Agencies; global developments; research; national, regional and local initiatives; and a specific focus on PFAS. The next European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Conference will take place on 28 February 2024 in Helsinki. As we are preparing the programme, we want to hear what would be the most important topics for you. So, fill in our short survey and help us shape a relevant and inspiring stakeholder event. The 2024 SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo will take place March 10–14, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit the 2024 website to view upcoming deadlines. The Baking Association of Canada’s national baking industry event will feature a bustling trade show and conference, inspirational speakers, education sessions, competitions and demonstrations and countless opportunities to network and benefit your business.Advocacy
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