Proposed law would ban trans-fats in Canada

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 000587 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT EB/DCT, WHA/CAN DEPARTMENT PASS USTR (CHANDLER) USDA/FAS/OSEC (Renn) USDA/FAS/OA (Terpstra) USDA/FAS/ITP/OFSTS (Sheikh and S. Reid) USDA/FAS/CMP (F. Lee) USDOC for 4320/ITA/MAC/WH/ONAFTA/WORD HHS FOR FDA/International Affairs (KWAIN) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EAGR TBIO CA ETRD EAGR TBIO CA NDP SUBJECT: Proposed law would ban trans-fats in Canada Ref (A) 2004 Ottawa 03431 (B) 2005 Ottawa 00418 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. A law proposed by Canada's social democratic party, the NDP, would amend Canada's Food and Drug Act to prohibit content of more than 2 grams of trans-fatty acids per 100 grams of oil or fat in foodstuffs. This proposed law, would take Canada down the same path as Denmark, which in March 2003, issued new regulations limiting the amount of trans fat in processed foods. Currently manufacturers are able to treat Canada and the United States as essentially a single extended market. Canadian imposition of a ban on Trans-fatty acids in foods would have a detrimental effect on American industry; these proposed new rules would introduce a regulatory mismatch and impose costly measures on manufacturers to meet different formulation requirements for foods in Canada and in the United States. The bill is moving slowly so far, but underscores the need to watch food regulatory developments closely, and reinforces Post's suggestion that we press for regulatory synchronization between the two countries (ref A). Post intends to ensure this piece of legislation is noted and discussed at the next meeting of the Consultative Committee on Agriculture. End summary. ¶2. The bill, C-220 "An Act to Amend the Food and Drugs Act (trans fatty acids)" was introduced in the House of Commons on October 18, 2004 as a "Public Members Private Bill". That is, a New Democratic Party (NDP) member of the House of Commons introduced the bill and it does not have Liberal government support. That being said, in the current minority parliament the NDP does have considerable sway over the Liberal government of Paul Martin. The NDP leader, Jack Layton, is urging Canada to follow the lead of Denmark. Said Layton, "People expect us to have legislation to protect their health and if we'd been informed that trans fats are dangerous to your health, we'd be irresponsible if we didn't take some action." ¶3. The Conservative Party, which is the official opposition and has the second greatest number of seats in the House of Commons after the governing Liberal party supports the Trans fatty acid ban. Steven Fletcher, the Conservative Health critic, is a passionate and high profile advocate for this bill, which would result in the effective elimination of processed trans fats from food products in Canada. ¶4. In November 2004, in response to the calls for a prohibition from the NDP and Conservative parties, Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh announced that Health Canada, in conjunction with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, would "work through a multi-stakeholder task force to develop recommendations and strategies for reducing trans fats in Canadian foods to the lowest levels possible." The task force, being developed with the support and participation of the food processing and food service industries, will include representatives from health associations, government, academia, and industry. ¶5. Recommendations regarding public education, labelling, and any possible immediate opportunities for the food service and food processing industry to reduce trans fats are expected by late Spring 2005. By autumn 2005 the task force is expected to provide the Minister with recommendations for both an appropriate regulatory framework and for the introduction and widespread use of alternatives to achieve the objective of limiting trans fat content in foods sold in Canada to the lowest levels possible. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶6. The formation of this "trans fat task force" has taken some of the wind out of the sails of Bill C-220 (which has yet to receive its second reading and debate in the House of Commons). Moreover, the consultative approach is supported by recommendations from the External Advisory Committee on Smart Regulations, which call for the formation of such groups to help lead regulatory reform. Indeed officials of the GoC Smart Regulation secretariat (ref B) commented to us that Bill C-220 is a prime example of exactly the wrong approach to take on regulation. Nevertheless, this piece of proposed legislation underscores the need for vigilance on the food regulatory front; and reinforces our recent suggestion to push for greater regulatory synchronization between Canada and the United States (ref A). Post intends to ensure this piece of legislation is noted and discussed at the next meeting of the Consultative Committee on Agriculture. Cellucci