Bill C-389

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First Reading

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	1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46-47 Elizabeth II, 1997-98
	The House of Commons of Canada
	BILL C-389
	An Act to amend the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (nutritional value of food)
	Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
R.S., c. C-38; R.S., cc. 27, 31 (1st Supp.); 1992, c. 1; 1995, c. 1; 1997, c. 6	*1. Section 2 of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act* is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:**
``processed food'' « aliment condition- né »	``processed food'' means any food for human consumption that, in Canada, in an establishment that has more than twenty employees, or outside Canada, has been cooked or is combined with other food, but does not include food
	(a) sold
	(i) in a restaurant or other establishment selling food that is usually consumed immediately,
	(ii) in a temporary establishment,
	(iii) from a motor vehicle,
	(iv) by a not-for-profit organization, or
	(v) for medical purposes;
	(b) prepared for religious purposes;
	(c) consisting primarily of raw meat; or
	(d) that is prescribed.
	2. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 5:
Prohibition	5.1 (1) No person shall package any product consisting of processed food intended for retail sale unless there is affixed to the package a label containing a list in English and French showing the exact nutritional value of the processed food in terms of
	(a) vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C and D;
	(b) sodium, potassium, iron and calcium;
	(c) carbohydrates;
	(d) fat, including polyunsaturates, monounsaturates and saturates, and cholesterol;
	(e) calories; and
	(f) dietary fibre.
Exact nutritional value	(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the nutritional value of the processed food appearing on the label is deemed to be exact where, with respect to each of the nutritional value components named in subsection (1), no variance thereof from the nutritional value of the food determined by the Minister pursuant to subsection 12 (1.1) exceeds ten per cent of the value so determined.
	3. (1) The heading before section 12 of the Act is replaced by the following:
	RESEARCH, STUDIES AND ANALYSES
	(2) Section 12 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Analysis	(1.1) The Minister may submit for analysis any processed, packaged food intended for retail sale that has been seized and detained pursuant to this Act.
	4. Subsection 18(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following after paragraph (b):
	(b.1) excluding any food from the definition of processed food;
	(b.2) determining what constitutes a portion for the purposes of section 5.1;
	5. Section 20 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Contraven- tion of section 5.1	(1.1) Every person who contravenes section 5.1 is guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction
	(a) for a first offence, to a fine not exceeding $25,000; and
	(b) for each subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding $100,000.
	6. Section 22 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1):
Identification appearing in labels	(1.1) In any prosecution for an offence under this Act, evidence that a label applied to a processed food package bore identification purporting to identify the person by or for whom the product was packaged is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that the person whose identification appeared in the label is the person by or for whom the product was packaged and the person responsible for the information and representations in the label.
	COMING INTO FORCE
Coming into force	7. This Act comes into force one year after the day it is assented to.

Bill C-389

BILL C-389