Ottawa, Ontario
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for enforcing Canada's food laws including the Food and Drug Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. These regulations apply to a broad range of food products, including fortified foods like the food spread, Vegemite.
It is our inspectors' job to uphold these regulations, which are in place to protect consumers.
Recently, the CFIA conducted a planned inspection of a licensed importer to verify compliance with Canadian regulations. During the course of this inspection, it was found that the Vegemite product being sold did not comply with Canadian regulations around vitamin fortification as well as the requirements for information on consumer prepackaged food to be in both official languages. As a result, the importer was informed of the non-compliance and voluntarily removed the product from its menu and retail offerings.
Since then, the CFIA has requested a health risk assessment from Health Canada. This science-based assessment has determined that the level of risk to human health from the added vitamins present in the product is low when consumed in suggested serving sizes. As such, the CFIA will work with the importer to allow the product to be sold in the short-term, including revised labelling, while we collaborate with Health Canada, the manufacturer, and the importer, to find a longer-term plan for Vegemite sales across Canada.
The Government of Canada remains committed to food safety while supporting fair and reasonable access to culturally significant products.
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