Have you seen supplemented foods in stores? They’re labelled differently than regular foods and often have cautionary statements. Let’s take a closer look at supplemented foods and understand the labelling rules.
What are supplemented foods?
Supplemented foods are prepackaged foods with one or more “supplemental ingredients” that are added for purposes other than nutrition. The supplemental ingredients which are allowed to be added to foods include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, caffeine and green tea extract. An energy bar with added vitamins and minerals is an example of a supplemented food.
What’s the difference between conventional foods, fortified foods and supplemented foods?
It can be confusing! The key difference is whether or not extra ingredients are added and if so, what is the purpose for adding them. Here’s a comparison of the different types of foods.
Conventional foods
These are foods WITHOUT any added vitamins, minerals, amino acids or caffeine.
Examples of conventional foods are:
- cheese
- cooking oil
- canned or dried beans
Fortified foods
These are conventional foods WITH added vitamins or minerals.
The vitamins and minerals are added for nutrition purposes such as:
- restoring nutrients which were lost during the food processing
- helping to prevent or correct a specific nutrient deficiency
- ensuring that an alternative food has the same nutrition as the food it is meant to substitute
Examples of fortified foods are:
- milk – is fortified with vitamin D to help prevent deficiencies; skim milk and lower fat milk are fortified with vitamin A to replace the amount that was removed during the skimming process
- white flour – also called “enriched white flour”; is fortified with thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and iron to restore these nutrients which were lost during the refining process
- fortified plant-based beverages – are fortified with calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients to make the beverages more nutritionally similar to milk
Supplemented foods
These are foods WITH supplemented ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, caffeine, green tea extract or other added ingredients.
Importantly, the supplemented ingredients are added for non-nutrition reasons rather than the nutrition purposes mentioned above. For example, vitamins and minerals may be added to a protein drink to enhance the overall nutritional value of the beverage rather than to prevent a nutrient deficiency.
Examples of supplemented foods are:
- energy bars or beverages with added vitamins and minerals
- energy drinks with added caffeine
- other beverages with added caffeine
What foods can and can’t be supplemented?
According to Health Canada, any of the following foods and food categories can be supplemented:
- bars, energy bars
- fruit and / or vegetable drinks, fruit nectars, fruit and / or vegetable-based smoothies
- carbonated or non-carbonated water-based beverages
- juices
- single-serving prepackaged tea, coffee or herbal infusions
- hard, soft or semi-soft candies
- chocolate confectionaries
- chewing gums
- ice pop
Foods which cannot be supplemented include:
- infant foods
- foods targeted to kids under 4 years
- foods targeted to those who are pregnant or breastfeeding
- alcoholic beverages
- foods for special dietary use
- prepackaged unprocessed or minimally processed foods
- foods which are required or allowed to be fortified with nutrients
Are there any potential risks of supplemented foods?
Supplemented foods contain certain ingredients that should not be consumed in excess amounts by children, people who are pregnant or members of other vulnerable groups. For this reason, supplemented foods need special labelling to help consumers tell these foods apart from other foods and to make informed choices.
How are supplemented foods labelled?
Health Canada has developed comprehensive new labelling guidelines for supplemented foods. All supplemented foods in Canada must be labelled by January 1, 2026 and you may already see some foods with these labels in stores now.
Look for three things on a supplemented food label.
Supplemented Food Facts table
This looks similar to the Nutrition Facts table found on conventional and fortified foods. You can find information about the serving size, calories and nutrients. The Supplemented Food Facts table also has a separate section that lists the supplemental ingredients – this includes naturally occurring plus supplemental amounts.
Example of a bilingual Nutrition Facts table versus a Supplemented Food Facts table
Caution identifier
Some supplemented foods contain supplemental ingredients that can pose a health risk to children, people who are pregnant or members of other vulnerable groups such as caffeine-sensitive people.
Look for a caution identifier shown as an exclamation mark on supplemented foods. When you see this symbol, it means there is a caution box on the back of the package with advice on how to eat or drink the food appropriately.
Example of a bilingual caution identifier on supplemented foods
Caution Box
A caution box must be on the label whenever a specific type or amount of supplemental ingredient is added to the food. For example, a caution box must be included whenever zinc is added or if more than 74 mg of vitamin C per serving has been added. Look for the caution box on the back or side of the package.
Example of a caution box on supplemented foods
The information in the caution box highlights who should not consume the product, the maximum amount to consume in a day, as well as advice about not consuming the product on the same day as eating other foods with the same supplemental ingredients.
Read the caution box to help you decide if the supplemented food is right for you.
References
Images from Government of Canada (August 26, 2024). Supplemented foods: Labels. Sourced December 10, 2024. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/supplemented-foods/labels.html
Government of Canada (March 18, 2024). Labelling and composition requirements for grain and bakery products. Sourced on December 10, 2024. https://inspection.canada.ca/en/food-labels/labelling/industry/grain-and-bakery-products#s16c6
Health Canada (March 7 2024). List of permitted supplemented food categories. Sourced on December 10, 2024. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/supplemented-foods/technical-documents/list-permitted-food-categories.html
Health Canada (Sept 16 2024). List of permitted supplemental ingredients. Sourced on December 10, 2024. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/supplemented-foods/list-permitted-food-ingredients.html
