How is bottled water regulated in Canada?
In Canada, bottled water is regulated as a food and therefore it must comply with the Food and Drugs Act. Section 4 of the Act prohibits the sale of foods which contain poisonous or harmful substances and section 5(1) of the Act prohibits the labelling, packaging, treating, processing, selling or advertising of any food in a manner that misleads or deceives consumers as to the character, value, quantity, composition, merit or safety of the product. There are specific regulations for bottled water set out in Division 12 of Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations. The regulations provide definitions for different types of bottled water and specify microbiological standards, acceptable treatments and labelling requirements for these products. In addition to the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, the Health Products and Food Branch also issue guidelines for bottled water and other products. These guidelines are published in the “Health Products and Food Branch Standards and Guidelines for
