Health Canada finalizes food processing aid policy and guidance

The Food Directorate has released its finalized policy for issuing Interim Letter of No Objection (iLONO) for food processing aids required by the CFIA. As such, the scope of the new policy is limited to processing aids intended for use as antimicrobial agents applied directly on foods processed in federally registered meat establishments.

The new policy revises the iLONO review period to 60 calendar days, no longer requires submission of copies of processing aid applications approved by recognized like-minded agencies, and provides detailed guidance on how to complete an iLONO submission. The new guidance “Policy for Issuing an Interim Letter of No Objection (iLONO) for a Food Processing Aid” is available here. Interested parties can also obtain an electronic list of Antimicrobial Processing Aids for Which Health Canada Has Issued a Letter of No Objection (LONO) by contacting Health Canada’s publications office, or by sending them an email with the subject heading, "hpfb BCS antimicrobial processing aids-eng."

In addition, a new guidance document has been released to assist industry in preparing food processing aid submissions. To obtain an electronic copy of the document, A Guide for Preparing Food Processing Aid Submissions, please send an email to Health Canada’s publications office with the subject heading, "HPFB BCS Guidance PA Submission Guide-eng," or contact Health Canada’s publications office.

Prepared with assistance from Amanda MacNaughton.