Tropicana markets this drink as 'calcium-fortified orange juice' in many countries – but not in Canada.

Tropicana's calcium-fortified orange juice, the department insists, is not a food but a drug. 

It sits beside other juices on the supermarket shelf, but each carton bears a big label that reads Calcium and Vitamin C Supplement – Without Pulp. 

To confirm they're picking up "100 per cent pure orange juice," shoppers must read the fine print on the side of the carton, under Non-medicinal Ingredients.

Tropicana is only one casualty in the controversy over how to label "functional foods" —  products that straddle the line between foods and drugs.

Beyond an apple a day

Functional foods are enhanced by vitamins, minerals and/or other ingredients that are supposed to help fight disease and improve health. 

Canadians bought an estimated $1 billion of these products last year, including:

• Yogurt with live bacterial culture (to boost the immune system)
  
• Sports bars packed with beta-carotene (to reduce the risk of cancer)
  
• Egg mix containing omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil (to boost mental alertness and reduce the risk of heart disease)
  
• Cereal with boosted levels of beta-glucan (to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease)

Canada's functional-food industry did even better, bringing in nearly $2 billion, according to a recent report by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Yet most functional foods made in Canada aren't sold here, they're exported primarily to the United States. 

The industry claims the Canadian market is blocked from reaching its multibillion-dollar potential because of Canada's labelling system and the regulatory system that governs it — the Canada Food and Drugs Act.

'We're 10 years behind the U.S.'

Under the Act, functional-food manufacturers are not allowed to claim their products have health benefits —  even if they have scientific evidence to support those claims. They can list the ingredients, but they can't tell consumers how those ingredients might help improve health.

"It's a real disadvantage. We're probably about 10 years behind the U.S. because of the regulatory framework," says a food industry spokeswoman, Laurie Curry.

Curry is a vice-president of the Food and Consumer Products Manufacturers of Canada, which represents more than 165 companies that manufacture and market food. 

Many would like to enter the market for functional foods but are deterred by the strict regulations, she says.

In the United States, Europe, Japan and other places, functional-food manufacturers can advertise potential health benefits. 

The United States — whose functional-food industry is worth up to $37 billion — allows 17 health claims.

In Japan, where the industry is worth as much as $14 billion, the list is even longer — more than 200 claims.

Worldwide, the industry is expanding by nearly 15 per cent a year —  compared to one per cent growth for traditional foods.

If this country loosened its restrictions on functional foods, we could quickly build an industry worth $3 billion to $5 billion or more, Curry says.

Canada considers health claims

Agriculture Canada has a new way to extract lycopene – which helps prevent cancer – from tomato skins.

Canada is changing its system. 

In June, Health Canada proposed new regulations that would let manufacturers make five broad health claims on their packaging – "Food low in sodium and high in potassium can reduce the risk of high blood pressure," for example, or "Food adequate in calcium and vitamin D can reduce the risk of osteoporosis." 

The proposals are part of a broader package the government hopes to finalize by spring.

Industry would welcome these changes, Curry says.

"They will allow the food manufacturers in Canada to begin entering the market and making the link for consumers between food and disease."

However, other industry insiders don't feel they go far enough.

Kelley Fitzpatrick heads the Saskatoon-based Saskatchewan Nutraceutical Network, which represents 134 companies in the functional foods and nutraceuticals industry. (Nutraceuticals are health-enhancing products isolated from foods and generally sold as medicines.)

Fitzpatrick says Health Canada has to speed up its process of approving these products by relying more heavily on scientific testing from other countries. "We don't need to reinvent the wheel on everything."

But Linda Dumais, a nutrition evaluator for Health Canada, says it is better to be safe than sorry. The department must do its own testing to ensure Canadians are safe, she says. 

"Our goal is to provide them with information that will stand the test of time."

Labels run risk of 'selling snake oil'

Health Canada's position makes some consumer advocates happy.

Bill Jeffery co-ordinates the Canadian office of the U.S.-based Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit, consumer health organization that has lobbied hard for caution in allowing health claims on food labels in Canada.

Jeffery says his group is not opposed on principle to functional foods, but worries they could contain dangerously concentrated dosages, or lure consumers away from more balanced diets. 

Nor is the group opposed to allowing health claims on food labels — as long as they are scientifically substantiated and carefully phrased, he says. He warns against "ridiculous" claims such as those used in some other countries — that promise a product "cures cancer," for example, instead of "may reduce the risk of cancer."

Ultimately, he says, Health Canada must find a balance between encouraging a promising industry and protecting Canadians from claims that might be too exaggerated.

"Permitting those kinds of claims on food labels is the equivalent of selling snake oil," Jeffery says. 

"It's kind of uncharted territory. It has to be dealt with very carefully. Consumers can't just go out to review the scientific literature to ensure that they're valid and not just quackery."

Related Links Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: Market, Industry and Distribution, a study from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada How much do Canadian consumers know and care about functional foods? Highlights of a study by the National Institute of Nutrition Functional Foods: Public Health Boon or 21st Century Quackery?, a report commissioned by the Center for Science in the Public Interest