Terms and conditions

Privacy notice

The Government of Canada is committed to providing websites that respect the privacy of visitors. This privacy notice summarizes the privacy policy for Healthy Canadians' online activities.

All personal information collected by this institution is governed by the Privacy Act. This means that you will be informed of the purpose for which your personal information is being collected and how to exercise your right of access to that information.

Your Privacy and the Internet

The nature of the Internet is such that Web servers automatically collect certain information about a visit to a website, including the visitor's Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are unique numbers assigned by Internet Service Providers (ISP) to all devices used to access the Internet. Web servers automatically log the IP addresses of visitors to their sites. The IP address, on its own, does not identify an individual. However, in certain circumstances, such as with the co-operation of an ISP for example, it could be used to identify an individual using the site. For this reason, the Government of Canada considers the IP address to be personal

Unless otherwise noted, the Government of Canada does not automatically gather information from you, such as your name, telephone number or e-mail address. The Government of Canada would only obtain this type of information if you supply it to us, for example by email, or by filling in a contact form. In such cases, how your personal information is handled will be provided in a Personal Information Collection Statement.

In cases where services are provided by organizations outside of the Government of Canada, such as social media platforms or mobile applications, IP addresses may be recorded by the Web server of the third-party service provider.

Communicating with the Government of Canada

If you choose to send the Government of Canada an email or complete a feedback form online, your personal information is used by the Government of Canada in order to respond to your inquiry. The information you provide will only be shared with another government institution if your inquiry relates to that institution. The Government of Canada does not use the information to create individual profiles nor does it disclose the information to anyone other than to those in the federal government who need to provide you with a response. Any disclosure of your personal information is in accordance with the Privacy Act.

Emails and other electronic methods used to communicate with the Government of Canada are not secure unless it is specifically stated on a Web page. Therefore, it is recommended that you do not send sensitive personal information, such as your Social Insurance Number or your date of birth, through non-secure electronic means.

Personal information from emails or completed feedback forms is collected pursuant to the federal Department of Health Act, the Public Health Agency of Canada Act, and statutes for which the Minister of Health is responsible. Such information may be used for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes and is included in Personal Information Public Communications (PSU 914).

Third-Party Social Media

Healthy Canadians' use of social media serves as an extension of its presence on the Web. Social media account(s) are public and are not hosted on Government of Canada servers. Users who choose to interact with us via social media should read the terms of service and privacy policies of these third-party service providers and those of any applications you use to access them. Healthy Canadians uses Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, Digg, Googe Bookmarks, StumbleUpon, Hotmail, MySpace, reddit, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail.

Personal information that you provide to Healthy Canadians via social media account(s) is collected under the authority of the federal Department of Health Act, the Public Health Agency of Canada Act, and statutes for which the Minister of Health is responsible. This information is collected to capture conversations (e.g. questions and answers, comments, "likes", retweets) between you and the Government of Canada. It may be used to respond to inquiries, or for statistical, evaluation and reporting purposes. Comments posted that violate Canadian law will be deleted and disclosed to law enforcement authorities. Comments that violate our rules of engagement will also be deleted. The personal information is included in Personal Information Bank Public Communications (PSU 914)

Improving Your Experience on Government of Canada Web Sites

Digital Markers (including cookies)

A digital marker is a resource created by the visitors' browser in order to remember certain pieces of information for the Web server to reference during the same or subsequent visit to the website. Examples of digital markers are "cookies" or HTML5 web storage. Some examples of what digital markers do are as follows:

  • they allow a website to recognize a previous visit each time the visitor accesses the site;
  • they track what information is viewed on a site which helps website administrators ensure visitors find what they are looking for.

Healthy Canadians uses sessional and persistent digital markers on some portions of its website. During your on-line visit, your browser exchanges data with the Healthy Canadians' Web server. The digital markers used do not allow Healthy Canadians to identify individuals.

You may adjust your browser settings to reject digital markers, including cookies, if you so choose. However, it may affect your ability to interact with the Healthy Canadians website.

Web Analytics

Web analytics is the collection, analysis, measurement, and reporting of data about Web traffic and visits for purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage. Information in digital markers may be used for the purpose of web analytics to remember your online interactions with the Healthy Canadians website.

Healthy Canadians uses Webtrends and Google Analytics to improve its web site. When your computer requests a Healthy Canadians Web page, our institution collects the following types of information for Web analytics:

  • the originating IP address
  • the date and time of the request
  • the type of browser used
  • the page(s) visited

Healthy Canadians uses Webtrends internally and retains information collected for Web analytics for a maximum period of 18 months. After this period, the information must be disposed of in accordance with the Standard on Privacy and Web Analytics and as authorized by the Librarian and Archivist of Canada. Healthy Canadians also uses Google Analytics and the information collected is disclosed to Google, an external third party service provider. Your IP address is anonymized prior to being stored on the service provider's servers in order to help safeguard your privacy. The information collected is de-personalized by activating the anonymization feature in Google Analytics.

Data collected for Web analytics purposes goes outside of Canada to the United States of America and may be subject to the governing legislation of that country, such as the USA Patriot Act.

Information used for the purpose of Web analytics is collected pursuant to the Department of Health Act, the Public Health Agency of Canada Act, and statutes for which the Minister of Health is responsible. Such data may be used for communications and information technology statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting. For more information on how your privacy is safeguarded in relation to web analytics, see the Standard on Privacy and Web Analytics.

Protecting the Security of Government of Canada Websites

The Government of Canada employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. This software receives and records the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer that has contacted our website, the date and time of the visit, and the pages visited. We make no attempt to link these addresses with the identity of individuals visiting our site unless an attempt to damage the site has been detected.

This information is collected pursuant to section 161 of the Financial Administration Act. The information may be shared with appropriate law enforcement authorities if suspected criminal activities are detected. Such information may be used for network security related statistical purposes, audit, evaluation, research, planning and reporting and is included in Personal Information Bank Public Communications (PSU 914)

Inquiring about these Practices

Questions, comments, concerns or complaints you may have regarding or the administration of the Privacy Act and the privacy policies regarding the Healthy Canadians Web presence may be directed to our Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator by:

E-mail: atip-aiprp@hc-sc.gc.ca
Telephone: 613-954-9165
Teletypewriter: 1-800-465-7735 (Service Canada)
Mail: Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
Health Canada
Holland Cross - Tower B
1600 Scott Street, 7th Floor, Suite 700
Postal Locator: 3107A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

If you are not satisfied with the response to your privacy concern, you may wish to contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner by e-mail at: info@privcom.gc.ca, by telephone at 1-800-282-1376 or visit their website.

Disclaimers

The material provided on Healthy Canadians is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Healthy Canadians is not engaged in rendering medical service or advice and the information provided is not a substitute for a professional medical opinion. If you have a medical problem, please contact a qualified health professional.

For addresses of companies located outside Canada, the address is provided in the language of the country to facilitate mail delivery

Drug and Medical Device Recall - Legal Disclaimer Statement

This section has been designed to provide general information about drugs and medical devices that have been recalled from the Canadian market by manufacturers, importers, distributors among others. The information contained herein is a compilation from different sources and, as such, Health Canada's Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate makes no representations and disclaims all express and implied warranties and conditions of any kind, including, representations, warranties or conditions regarding accuracy, timeliness and completeness.

The material is compiled from different sources and is provided for informational purposes only. As such, Health Canada cannot guarantee the accuracy, timeliness and completeness of this information.

The Health Products and Food Branch Inspectorate made and will continue to make efforts to provide accurate and up to date information. Although the content has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, this web site could include technical or other inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. Health Canada's Health Products and Food Branch may make improvements and/or changes at any time without notice.

Health Canada is committed to posting recall information with respect to drugs and medical devices on the Healthy Canadians website as a service to the public, the medical community and other stakeholders.

Inquiries regarding the details of a particular recall should be directed to the manufacturer or local supplier.

MedEffect - Notice about Health Canada advisories

The Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB) posts on the Healthy Canadians Web site safety alerts, public health advisories, press releases and other notices as a service to health professionals, consumers, and other interested parties.

These advisories may be prepared with Directorates in the HPFB which includes pre-market and post-market areas as well as market authorization holders and other stakeholders.

Although the HPFB grants market authorizations or licenses for therapeutic products, we do not endorse either the product or the company. Any questions regarding product information should be discussed with your health professional.

Official Notices for Government of Canada Departments

The following notices appear in the "Terms and Conditions" section of websites and Web applications to which the Standard on Web Usability applies.

Using Files Located on Non-Government of Canada Servers

To improve the functionality of Government of Canada websites, certain files (such as open source libraries, images and scripts) may be delivered automatically to your browser via a trusted third-party server or content delivery network. The delivery of these files is intended to provide a seamless user experience by speeding response times and avoiding the need for each visitor to download these files. Where applicable, specific privacy statements covering these files are included in our Privacy Notice.

Providing Content in Canada's Official Languages

The Official Languages Act, the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations and Treasury Board policy requirements establish when we use both English and French to provide services to or communicate with members of the public. When there is no obligation to provide information in both official languages, content may be available in one official language only. Information provided by organizations not subject to the Official Languages Act is in the language(s) provided. Information provided in a language other than English or French is only for the convenience of our visitors.

Linking to Non-Government of Canada Websites

Links to websites not under the control of the Government of Canada, including those to our social media accounts, are provided solely for the convenience of our website visitors. We are not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the content of such websites. The Government of Canada does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Visitors should also be aware that information offered by non-Government of Canada sites to which this website links is not subject to the Privacy Act or the Official Languages Act and may not be accessible to persons with disabilities. The information offered may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question. With respect to privacy, visitors should research the privacy policies of these non-government websites before providing personal information.

Ownership and Usage of Content Provided on This Site

Materials on this website were produced and/or compiled by Healthy Canadians for the purpose of providing Canadians with access to information about the programs and services offered by the Government of Canada. You may use and reproduce the materials as follows:

Non-commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified you may reproduce the materials in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes, and in any format, without charge or further permission, provided you do the following:

  • Exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced;
  • Indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author (where available); and
  • Indicate that the reproduction is a copy of the version available at [URL where original document is available].

Commercial reproduction

Unless otherwise specified, you may not reproduce materials on this site, in whole or in part, for the purposes of commercial redistribution without prior written permission from the Government of Canada's copyright administrator, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). To obtain permission to reproduce Government of Canada materials on this site for commercial purposes, Apply for Crown Copyright Clearance or write to:

Public Works and Government Services Canada
Publishing and Depository Services
350 Albert Street, 4th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0S5 or
copyright.droitdauteur@pwgsc.gc.ca

Some of the content on this site may be subject to the copyright of another party. Where information has been produced or copyright is not held by Government of Canada, the materials are protected under the Copyright Act, and international agreements. Details concerning copyright ownership are indicated on the relevant page(s). To obtain additional information concerning copyright ownership and restrictions, please contact Health Canada's copyright coordinator by email at pubsadmin@hc-sc.gc.ca or by sending a detailed fax to 613-957-1395.

Trademark Notice

The official symbols of the Government of Canada, including the Canada wordmark, the Arms of Canada, and the flag symbol may not be reproduced, whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes, without prior written authorization.

Our Commitment to Accessibility

The Government of Canada is committed to achieving a high standard of accessibility as defined in the Standard on Web Accessibility and the Standard on Optimizing Websites and Applications for Mobile Devices. In the event of difficulty using our Web pages, applications or device-based mobile applications, please contact us for assistance or to obtain alternative formats such as regular print, Braille or another appropriate format.

Interacting With Us on Social Media

This notice has been written to explain how Healthy Canadians interacts with the public on social media platforms.

Content and Frequency

We use our social media accounts as an alternative method of sharing the content posted on our website and interacting with our stakeholders. By following our social media accounts (by "following," "liking" or "subscribing"), you can expect to see information about the programs and services we provide.

We understand that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. You should expect to see new content posted Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST/EDT. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and responded to as soon as possible.

Because the servers of social media platforms are managed by a third party, our social media accounts are subject to downtime that may be out of our control. As such, we accept no responsibility for platforms becoming unresponsive or unavailable.

Links to Other Websites and Ads

Our social media accounts may post or display links or ads for websites that are not under our control. These links are provided solely for the convenience of users. The Government of Canada is not responsible for the information found through these links or ads, nor does it endorse the sites or their content.

Following, "Favouriting" and Subscribing

Our decision to "follow," "favourite" or "subscribe" to another social media account does not imply an endorsement of that account, channel, page or site, and neither does sharing (re-tweeting, reposting or linking to) content from another user.

Comments and Interaction

We will read comments and participate in discussions when appropriate. We ask that your comments be relevant and respectful. We reserve the right to delete comments that violate this notice, and the user may be blocked and reported to prevent further inappropriate comments.

We cannot engage in issues of party politics or answer questions that break the rules of this notice.

We reserve the right to edit or remove comments that:

  • Contain personal information;
  • Are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms;
  • Express racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting or life-threatening messages;
  • Put forward serious, unproven or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations;
  • Are aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene or pornographic;
  • Are offensive, rude or abusive to an individual or an organization;
  • Are not sent by the author or are put forward for advertising purposes;
  • Encourage illegal activity;
  • Contain announcements from labour or political organizations;
  • Are written in a language other than English or French;
  • Are unintelligible or irrelevant;
  • Are repetitive or spam; and
  • Do not, in our opinion, add to the normal flow of the discussion.

In short, please be respectful and make sure that your comments are relevant to where they are posted. The views of users commenting on our social media accounts do not necessarily represent the views of Healthy Canadians or the Government of Canada.

Accessibility of Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms are third-party service providers and are not bound by Government of Canada standards for Web accessibility.

If you have difficulty accessing content on our social media accounts, please contact us and we will try to solve the problem or provide you with the information in a different format.

Copyright

Information that we post is subject to the Copyright Act.

Privacy

Our social media accounts are not Government of Canada websites and represent only our presence on third-party service providers.

For more information, please refer to our Privacy Notice regarding third-party social media.

Official Languages

Many social media platforms have multiple language options and provide instructions on how to set your preferences. The Government of Canada respects the Official Languages Act and is committed to ensuring that our information of is available in both French and English and that both versions are equal quality.

We reply to comments in the official language in which they are posted. If we think the response is a question of general public interest, we may respond in both official languages.

We may share links that direct users to sites of organizations or other entities that are not subject to the Official Languages Actand available only in the language(s) in which they are written. When content is available in only one language, we make an effort to provide similar content in the other official language.

Questions and Media Requests

Reporters are asked to send questions to our Media Relations Unit.

Finding information

You can find information on the Healthy Canadians website by using one of the following methods:

  • Navigation

    All of the information on the website is organized under 3 main subject headings which are:

    • Recalls and alerts
    • Kids
    • Food
    • Health
    • Environment
    • Cosmetics
  • Recalls and safety alerts search tips: Use AND, OR, NOT or " " for phrases or specific product names to improve your results. For example, "peanuts" OR "peanut butter".
  • RSS Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds

    Find out what RSS is and why you might find it useful to use Healthy Canadians RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds.

  • Search Engine

    The search engine offers quick access to information through bilingual (French or English) keyword or phrase searches.

Accessibility Help

Accessible Alternative Formats

We are committed to fair access to information regardless of the technologies used, and are continually striving to make our site accessible to the broadest range of disabilities and assistive devices. Accessible alternative formats can be made available upon request by contacting Info@hc-sc.gc.ca.

Increasing text size

You can change the settings in your web browser. Just follow the instructions below based on the browser you are using or see your browser's help for details.

  • Internet Explorer
    1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
    2. Select "Text Size".
    3. Select "Larger" or "Largest".
  • Mozilla Firefox
    1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
    2. Select "Text Size".
    3. Select "Increase".
    4. To increase the text size further, continue selecting "Increase".
  • Opera
    1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
    2. Select "Zoom".
    3. From the menu, select the size with which you would like to view the Web site.
    4. To increase the text size further, increase the percentage.
  • Netscape
    1. Select "View" in the menu bar.
    2. Select "Text Size".
    3. From the menu, select the size with which you would like to view the Web site.

Alternative formats and plug-ins

Information throughout our website is provided in HTML as the primary format. In some cases, other software formats are provided as alternatives. To open these alternate formats, you may need to download and install one or more of the following on your computer:

About RSS feeds

Never miss an update

Subscribe to our Healthy Canadians RSS feed and stay on top of all the latest news and information. You can access RSS feeds through your computer, smartphone or cellphone.

Online readers/aggregators

An RSS Reader, also known as an aggregator, will download and display RSS feeds for you. Many readers are separate programs; where other services, such as My Yahoo!, will let you add RSS feeds directly to a web page.

The RSS readers/aggregators allow users to receive links to updated web content, and view it at their convenience. When users sign up for an RSS feed, a message will appear in their feed reader every time new information is added to the website.

The following are a few of the many RSS readers/aggregators available on the web:

To view one of the RSS feeds online in your RSS reader/aggregator:

  1. Copy the URL link(s) located beside the topic(s) of your choice.
  2. Paste the URL link(s) into your reader.

To view one of the RSS feeds online in any RSS reader/aggregator:

  1. Copy the .xml URL link.
  2. Paste it into your reader.

Email RSS services

There is also an added service where you can register online to have the RSS feed sent directly to your email account.

The following are a few free online services that let you subscribe to RSS feeds via email:

To receive email notices through an email RSS service:

  1. Copy the URL link(s) located beside the topic(s) of your choice.
  2. Paste the URL link(s) into the email subscription page.

Subscribe to RSS updates.

Recalls and Safety Alerts widget

Your use of the Government of Canada Recall and Safety Alerts widget on your website does not indicate any form of endorsement or approval of your website by the Government of Canada.

The Government of Canada may remove, cancel, or make changes to the widget at any time without notice. The widget is provided "as is". The Government of Canada makes no warranty that the widget will not be uninterrupted or free from loss, corruption, attack, viruses, interference, hacking or other security intrusion and the Government of Canada disclaims any liability relating thereto. The Government of Canada also disclaims any express or implied warranty of merchantability or fitness of the widget for a particular purpose.

This widget is being provided to you for your convenience only. The Government of Canada makes no representation and gives no warranty of any kind with respect to the accuracy, usefulness, validity, completeness or currency of the information displayed on the widget.

For the most up to date and complete information concerning recall and safety alerts, please consult the websites of the appropriate Government of Canada departments or agencies, or visit www.healthycanadians.gc.ca.

You shall have no recourse against the Government of Canada for any loss, liability, damage or cost that you may suffer or incur at any time from the use of, or inability to use, the widget.

Instructions for customizing the widget

You can modify the following tags in the widget's code to adjust its appearance and content:

  • lang (eng | fra)

    This is the language parameter that will load the widget in the page's language of choice.

  • theme ( 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 )

    These are various colour schemes for the skin of the widget.

    • 1 - Black
    • 2 - Green
    • 3 - Blue
    • 4 - Red
    • 5 - Orange
    • 6 - Gray
  • feed ( 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 99 )

    This will be the parameter that selects the RSS feed that will populate the widget (to get a combination of two or more feeds, use a dash between each number: for example 2-3).

    • 1 - Child Car Seats
    • 2 - Consumer Products
    • 3 - Children's Products
    • 4 - Food
    • 5 - Health Products
    • 6 - Vehicles
    • 99 (default) - All feeds
  • width

    Choose the width you prefer (default is 190)

  • height

    Choose the height you prefer (default is 330)

Technical problems? Feedback?

If you have any technical problems with the Healthy Canadians website or have any comments or suggestions, please let us know.

Report a problem on this page
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Thank you for your help!

You will not receive a reply. For enquiries, please contact us.

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