The Canadian Federal government has introduced important changes to Canada's food and drugs laws in Bill C-51 to the Canadian House of Commons. The Act Respecting Foods, Therapeutic Products, and Cosmetics is intended to modernize and strengthen Canada's safety system for food and health products. The bill is said to overhaul the existing Canadian Food and Drugs Act by restructuring its format and introducing new definitions, such as therapeutic products, expanding regulatory authority, and providing new regulatory powers. All participants to Canadian food and drugs will be affected by this regulation.

The bill, introduced in April, creates new offences relating to food, therapeutic products (a new term used in the bill that includes drugs), and cosmetics. It also requires licenses for importing food and for interprovincial trade in food, as well as makes amendments to the licensing of therapeutic products. The bill responds to a perceived weakness in the federal health law and stems from a reform initiative that has been under consideration for a decade. Medical Design Magazine readers may be most interested in the sections titled Therapeutic Products and Establishment of Licenses. The Bill in detail is available at www.tinyurl.com/Bill51.