Foodlaw:The health benefits of plant sterols are not available to Canadians

But not in Canada. Not here, no way. Health Canada’s Food Directorate has been dragging its feet for over a decade. In spite of the scientific consensus and the approvals in so many other countries, it has refused to approve the addition of plant sterols to food, even though another branch of Health Canada – the Natural Health Products Branch – has just approved a plant sterol pill called Modulchol as safe and efficacious. The original food applicant, Unilever, that applied to add it to a margarine several years ago, is still caught up in the continuing black hole of the food-like natural health products policy. This new policy was just released: unfortunately, Health Canada laboured long and hard and delivered a mouse. The proposed case-by-case approach with vague criteria provides no greater predictability or timeliness.

The Manitoba researchers estimate that allowing plant sterol fortification would result in savings to our publicly funded health-care system of between $37 million and $2.4 billion by reducing the level of CHD in Canada. The rising cost of healthcare is one of the most critical issues facing Canada. If Health Canada senior management doesn’t care about the costs of our food regulatory system to Canadian industry, perhaps Health Canada’s minister would listen to her provincial colleagues who are all overwhelmed by the crushing costs of health care, not the least from the public cost of drugs to treat CHD. Allowing Canadians to choose to buy sterol-fortified foods would save lives and money.

Ronald L. Doering, BA, LL.B, MA, LL.D, is a past president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. He practices food law in the Ottawa offices of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, and can be reached at: Ronald.doering@gowlings.com