P Reaion d Ped. REPORT Meeting Date: July 5,2012 Regional Council. Wohkirq foh you RECOMMENDATION

Transcription

1 P Raion d Pd hd Wohkirq foh you REPORT Mting Dat: July 5,2012 Rgional Council DATE: May 16,2012 REPORT TITLE: FROM: Jantt Smith, Commissionr of Halth Srvics David L. Mowat. MBChB. MPH. FRCPC. Mdical Officr of Halth RECOMMENDATION That th Rgional Chair, on bhalf of Rgional Council, writ to th Fdral Ministr of Agricultur and Agri-Food, th Fdral Ministr of Halth, and th Chif Food Safty Officr for Canada and rqust that th bnfits of th currnt rgulatory rgim for municipal drinking watr b xtndd to bottld watr. Spcifically that: Watr bottling plants b inspctd a minimum of onc vry two yars by Canadian Food lnspction Agncy staff; Th Canadian Food lnspction Agncy publically disclos th rsults of ths inspctions and th rsults of any bottld watr sampls takn by Canadian Food lnspction Agncy staff; Th currnt Canadian standards rgarding bottld watr b amndd to rquir watr bottling companis to mak information rgarding thir watr sourcs and product sampling availabl to th public; And furthr, that th Mdical Officr of Halth for th Rgion of Pl b rqustd to add information and advic to rsidnts rgarding bottld watr to th Rgional wbsit. A program to promot tap watr and minimiz us of bottld watr in Rgional facilitis is currntly undr dvlopmnt. Council rqustd staff to rport back on bottld drinking watr and mak appropriat rcommndations rgarding nhancd rgulation. 0 Th rgulation of bottld watr sold in Canada is a rsponsibility shard by Halth Canada and th Canadian Food lnspction Agncy. Thr ar Canadian standards rlatd to th halth and safty, lablling, packaging, and advrtising of bottld watr. Th Canadian Food inspction Agncy is rsponsibl for th inspction of watr bottling plants. lnspction and quality assuranc information is not, howvr, publically availabl. Thr ar currntly no rquirmnts that watr bottling companis mak information rgarding thir watr sourcs or product sampling availabl to th public. Bactrial or viral watr-born illnss associatd with bottld watr is thortically possibl; howvr, an

2 DISCUSSION I. Background HE- Cr -2- On January 12, 2012 Rgional Council considrd a rport titld, "Tap Watr Promotion Updat". Council rqustd staff to rport back on bottld drinking watr and mak appropriat rcommndations rgarding nhancd rgulation of bottld watr. Council will rcall from th January rport that a policy to promot tap watr and minimiz us of bottld watr in Rgional facilitis has bn dvlopd. Th objctiv is to ducat mploys about th high quality of Pl tap watr and to promot tap watr as a saf and halthy altrnativ to othr bvrags. It idntifis thr ky policy statmnts: i) Provid rasonabl and appropriat accss to municipal drinking watr for Rgional staff working within Rgional Facilitis; ii) Eliminat th provision of bottld watr in Rgional mtings whr rasonabl accss to tap watr xists; and iii) Educat staff about th high quality of Pl's tap watr, th bnfits of drinking tap watr, and th advancd tchnologis usd in th tratmnt of tap watr. 2. Findings a) Bottld Watr - Gnral For th purpos of this rport, bottld watr mans watr sald in containrs for human consumption. Th watr may com from a varity of sourcs including springs, groundwatr or municipal supplis and may or may not b tratd prior to bottling. Th rgulation of bottld watr sold in Canada is a rsponsibility shard by Halth Canada and th Canadian Food Inspction Agncy. This includs domstically-bottld drinking watr and watr importd for sal in Canada. Halth Canada sts halth and safty standards for bottld watr, as wll as lablling policis rlatd to halth and nutrition. Th Canadian Food Inspction Agncy sts standards rlatd to th packaging, lablling and advrtising of bottld watr, as wll as inspction of watr bottling facilitis. In som aras provincial and municipal agncis also inspct watr bottling facilitis. Bottld watr is rgulatd as a food which must comply with th Canadian Food and Drugs Act. Sction 4 of th Food and Drugs Act prohibits th sal of foods, th dfinition of which includs drink, which contain poisonous or harmful substancs. Sction 5(1), prohibits th lablling, packaging, trating, procssing, slling or advrtising of any food in a mannr that mislads or dcivs consumrs as to th charactr, valu, quantity, composition, mrit or safty of th product. Thr ar spcific rgulations for bottld watr in Division 12, Part B of th Food and Drug Rgulations. Th rgulations provid dfinitions for diffrnt typs of bottld watr and spcify microbiological standards, accptabl tratmnts and lablling rquirmnts for ths products. Halth Canada has also publishd guidlins rgarding microbiological safty of bottld watr.

3 Hs- CI -3- b) Lablling of Bottld Watr Bottld watr coms from many sourcs and may undrgo diffrnt kinds of tratmnt and altrations. Thr ar currntly two catgoris of bottld watr dfind in th Food and Drug Rgulations. Bottld Watr Lablld as Spring or Minral Watr: Must com from an undrground sourc; it cannot com from a public watr supply. 0 Is fit for human consumption at its point of origin. Q Th sourc of th spring or minral watr must b idntifid. a Minral watr gnrally contains a largr amount of dissolvd minral salts than spring watr (usually mor than 500 milligrams pr litr). 0 Undr th rgulations, chmicals cannot b usd to chang th composition of spring or minral watr. Howvr, carbon dioxid for carbonation, ozon for disinfction, and fluorid for th prvntion of dntal caris may b addd. Bottld Watr Not Lablld as Spring or Minral Watr: Q Can com from any sourc (.g. municipal watr, wll). Q Can b tratd to mak it fit for human consumption or to modify its original composition. Th labl must indicat how th watr has bn tratd (.g. distillation, carbonation, ozonation, ultraviolt radiation or filtration to rmov harmful bactria). Whn watr has bn tratd by a mthod othr than distillation to rduc its dissolvd minral contnt to lss than 10 parts pr million, th product must b idntifid as "d-minralizd watr". c) Bottld Watr Compard to Municipal Tap Watr Tap watr distributd by municipalitis is rgulatd undr th Ontario Saf Drinking Watr Act (2002) and rgulations, and th Ontario Drinking Watr Standards, Objctivs and Guidlins. Rgulation undr th Saf Drinking Watr Act sts numrical limits on chmical, bactrial and radiological contaminants in municipal drinking watr. All municipal drinking watr in Ontario must mt ths standards, and th tst rsults must b mad availabl to th public. As dscribd abov, thr ar Canadian standards rlatd to th halth and safty, lablling, packaging, and advrtising of bottld watr, and th Canadian Food Inspction Agncy is rsponsibl for th inspction of watr bottling plants. It is not known, howvr, how frquntly th Canadian Food lnspction Agncy inspcts watr bottling plants or sampls and tsts bottld watr. This information is not publically availabl. In addition, thr ar currntly no rquirmnts that watr bottling companis mak information rgarding thir watr sourcs or product sampling availabl to th public. d) Bottld Watr and Illnss Th Halth Canada wbsit indicats that, "Bottld watr has an xcllnt safty rcord in Canada. At th prsnt tim, no watr-born disas outbraks hav bn associatd with drinking bottld watr in Canada". An lctronic sarch of svral comprhnsiv, high quality databass (Ovid Mdlin, Global Halth, Cochran Databas of Systmatic Rviws, and an EBSCO databas

4 HE- C j -4- calld Environmntal Halth) was compltd using th following sarch trms and critria: drinking watr, bottld, Canada, disas outbraks/communicabl disass, watr-born. No cas studis of any rportd watr-born disas from bottld watr in Canada wr found. Bactrial or viral watr-born illnss associatd with bottld watr is thortically possibl, ithr associatd with contaminatd sourc watr, inadquat tratmnt or contamination during th bottling procss, or consumr practics such as r-filling inadquatly cland watr bottls or laving opn, partially consumd containrs of bottld watr at room tmpratur for xtndd priods of tim. ) Initiativs to Addrss th Diffrncs Btwn Bottld Watr and Tap Watr In both Canada and th Unitd Stats, thr hav bn lgislativ initiativs to bring th rquirmnts for bottld watr into lin with thos for municipal drinking watr in ordr to bttr guarant consumrs th safty of all drinking watr. In Ontario, a Privat Mmbr's Bill was introducd that would hav rgulatd bottld watr. This Bill was givn scond rading on Octobr 17, 2002 with all party support, although it was not passd into law. Th Bill was titld, an Act to Amnd th Ontario Watr Rsourcs Act. Th Bill would hav givn th provinc th authority to: 0 Prscrib standards for chmical and radiological contaminants for bottld watr. Forbid slling bottld watr unlss it mts provincial standards. Rquir an analysis of th groundwatr sourcs of bottld watr and th conditions rsulting from natural run-off through aquifrs. At th fdral lvl, a Privat Mmbr's Bill titld An Act to bring th Food and Drug Rgulations in lin with th Guidlins for Canadian Drinking Watr Quality was introducd in Th Act was intndd to mak standards for bottl watr quality th sam as tap watr. It was nvr passd. In Sptmbr, 2003 a Bill was introducd in th California Stat Lgislatur rquiring watr bottlrs to prpar a "consumr confidnc rport" that would b publically availabl. Th Bill, calld th Shrman Food, Drug and Cosmtic Law, Division 104, Part 5, cam into ffct on January 1, Bottld watr consumr confidnc rports ar similar to rports that all Amrican municipalitis publish undr th Unitd Stats Saf Drinking Watr Act rgarding tap watr. Th bottld watr company rports includ information about th brand's sourc, any rgulatd contaminant prsnt in th watr, th lvl of th contaminant, and what it mans for human halth. Th Bill also addrsss th issus of consumr protction and th lablling of bottld watr, including importd products. f) Bottld Watr Production in Pl Rgion Thr ar a numbr of largr watr bottling plants and svral watr dpots whr consumrs can purchas watr in rfillabl containrs. lnspction of th watr bottling plants is a rsponsibility of th Canadian Food lnspction Agncy staff, although inspction and quality assuranc information is not publically availabl.

5 H - c( -5- Watr dpots ar inspctd by Pl Public Halth staff a minimum of onc pr yar. As with all food prmiss in Pl, th inspction rsults ar disclosd on our Foodchck Pl wbsit and a colour-codd sign is postd at th ntranc to th stablishmnt. 3. Proposd Dirction To nsur th safty of bottld watr, and to facilitat transparncy rgarding watr bottling plant inspction and sampl rsults, this rport maks a numbr of rcommndations rgarding: c Disclosur of Canadian Food Inspction Agncy watr bottling plant inspction and sampling rsults. Amndmnts to standards that would hav th ffct of rquiring watr bottling companis to mak information rgarding thir watr sourcs and product sampling availabl to th public. Adding information on bottld watr to th Rgional wbsit. Jantt Smith Commissionr of Halth Srvics David L. Mowat, MBChB, MPH, FRCPC Mdical Officr of Halth Approvd for Submission: D. Szwarc, Chif Administrativ Officr For furthr information rgarding this rport, plas contact Paul Callanan at xtnsion 2802 or via mail at paul. callanan@plrgion. ca c. Lgislativ Srvics