Food and nutrition legislation, guidelines and policies: Codes of practice

On this page

• What are codes of practice
• Good manufacturing practices for infant formulas and human milk fortifiers

What are codes of practice

Codes of practice are:

• risk management tools used to help ensure the safety and nutritional quality of food
• voluntary instruments that recommend procedures, practices or controls to:
  • minimize levels of chemical contaminants from the diet
  • prevent the contamination of foods by pathogenic microorganisms
• not enforceable

Codes of practice:

• aim to provide guidance to the food industry by encouraging good agricultural or manufacturing practices for growing, harvesting, transporting, storing, processing, packaging and distributing food
• may be developed in partnership with provinces, industry or other stakeholders
• are revised as new information from research institutions, industry and government experts becomes available

Good manufacturing practices for infant formulas and human milk fortifiers

Health Canada revised the good manufacturing practices (GMPs) for infant formulas and human milk fortifiers (HMF) in 2021. The GMPs establish general requirements for effective control of ingredients, formulations, processes, facilities and equipment used to produce all infant formulas and HMF sold, distributed or marketed in Canada. This is important as infant formulas may be the sole or major source of nutrition for an infant for 6 months after birth and beyond. During this period, rapid growth and brain development affects key aspects of a child's long-term health status and well-being.

These revised GMPs replace those published by Health Canada in 2006. Since 2006, in response to scientific, technical, regulatory and marketing developments, there have been changes in:

• infant formula and HMF products
• manufacturing processes
• packaging systems
• related practices

Health Canada made the changes after consultation with:

• the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
• infant formula and HMF manufacturers
• other interested parties

These GMPs aim to be both a guidance document and a resource tool for all infant formulas and HMF manufacturers to:

• achieve compliance with relevant Canadian regulations
• ensure consistent nutrient quality, safety and nutritional adequacy of infant formula and HMF products
• incorporate a food safety system designed to prevent all types of safety hazards (biological, physical and chemical) in the manufacture of infant formulas and HMF

Health Canada uses the GMPs to assess the manufacturing information received in pre-market notifications for new or changed infant formulas and HMF.