Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point

On  occasion,  Health  Canada  may  identify  the  need  to  make changes to the Lists of Permitted Food Additives  in order to correct minor errors, to adjust wording  in  the  interest  of  clarity,  to  ensure  consistency  in  terminology,  or  to  make changes  that  are  required  as  a  consequence  of  amendments  to  the  Food  and  Drug Regulations  (Regulations)  or  emerging  scientific  developments  related  to  the effectiveness and/or safety of an approved food additive.
Health  Canada's  Food  Directorate  received  a  request  seeking  approval  for  the  use  of sodium  benzoate  as  a  preservative  used  at  a  maximum  level  of  1,000  ppm  in oyster-flavoured  sauce.  Oyster-flavoured  sauce  is  regulated  as  an  unstandardized  fish product in Canada, and consequently, is not permitted to contain either benzoic acid or salts of benzoic acid due to the exception captured under subitem B.1(2) of Part 2 of the List of Permitted Preservatives.
The Food Directorate conducted an internal review of its files to understand the rationale behind the establishment of the exception, and found no scientific evidence, from a health and  safety  perspective,  to  soundly  rationalize  the  establishment  of  the  exception. In addition,  emerging  scientific  developments  have  demonstrated  the  effective anti-microbiological activities of benzoic acid and its salts when used for the preservation of  meat,  poultry  and  fish  products.  Therefore,  Health  Canada  has  enabled  the  use  of benzoic acid and its potassium and sodium salts described in the information document by modifying Part 2 of the List of Permitted Preservatives, effective 5 May 2020.
The purpose of this communication is to publically announce the Department's decision in  this  regard  and  to  provide  the  appropriate  contact  information  for  any  inquiries  or feedback on this modification.