The following checklist is a self-assessment tool to help industry

understand labelling requirements set out in the Food and Drugs

Act and Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Act and
Regulations.
The checklist only covers core labelling requirements applicable to
all foods. For more information on voluntary claims or statements
and commodity specific labelling requirements, visit the Industry
Labelling Tool.
Labelling requirements checklist disclaimer: Adherence to the
Labelling requirements checklist does not preclude the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) from taking regulatory action in
cases on non-compliance to regulatory and legislative labelling
requirements. This publication is not a legal document. The user is
encouraged to consult the official version of the applicable
legislation in the Food and Drugs Act and in the Safe Food for
Canadians Act for the purposes of interpreting and applying the
law. The Labelling requirements checklist was last modified in
January 2019.

Labelling requirements
Common name
Is a common name present?

• If not, is the product exempt?

Is the common name on the principal display panel

(definition) (PDP)?
Is the common name in letters of 1.6 mm or greater?

• Or, if the area of the principal display surface

(definition) (PDS) is 10 cm2 (1.55 inches2) or less, is the
common name shown in characters with a minimum type
height of 0.8 mm (1/32 inch)?
Is it an appropriate common name?

• as printed in bold face type, but not in italics, in the Food and
Drug Regulations (FDR) (standardized product) or in
the Canadian Standards of Identity documents or in
the Common Names for Prepackaged Fish document
incorporated by reference (IbR) in the Safe Food for
Canadians Regulations (SFCR)
• as prescribed by any other regulation, or
• the name by which the food is commonly known, if the name
is not so printed or prescribed

Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information

on Common name.

Net quantity declaration

Is a net quantity declaration present?

• If not, is the product exempt?

Is the net quantity declared on the PDP?

Is it in metric units?

• Or, in metric or Canadian units (definition) if it is a consumer

prepackaged food that is packaged from bulk at retail,
other than an individually measured (definition) food?

Is the appropriate manner (volume, weight, count) for the product

used?
Is it rounded to three figures, unless below 100?
Are the correct bilingual symbols used? (e.g., ml, mL, mℓ, L, l, ℓ
for liquids; g, kg for solids)

• If not, and the units are written out (e.g., kilograms) are the
units declared in both languages (unless exempt from
bilingual labelling)?
 Does the size of the numerical portion meet requirements (based
on size of PDP)? Is it in bold face type? Are the units in letters of
1.6 mm or greater (based on lowercase "o")?
If optional Canadian units are also present, are they declared
properly?
If optional U.S. gallons and quarts are also present, are they
identified properly? (fl oz optional)
Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information on Net
quantity.

List of ingredients and allergen labelling

Is a list of ingredients present?

• If not, is the product exempt or a single ingredient food?

Are ingredients in descending order of proportion by weight?

Have the ingredients been declared using an appropriate
common name?
Have components been properly declared where required?
Are priority allergens, gluten sources and sulphites declared
using the prescribed source name if present in product?

• in the list of ingredients, or

• in a "contains" statement?

Is the above information not placed on the bottom panel?

Is the "contains" statement, if present, at the end of the list of
ingredients without any intervening printed, written or graphic
material?
Are the English and French lists of ingredients and allergen
declarations the same?
Is the list of ingredients and allergen labelling legible and readily
discernible?
Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information on List
of ingredients and allergens labelling.

Name and principal place of business

Is a name and principal place of business present, to the level of
detail required?

• If not, is the product exempt?

Imported product
• Canadian name and principal place of business, grouped
with the geographic origin, or preceded by the expressions
"Imported by / importé par" or "Imported for / importé
pour"?
or

• Foreign name and principal place of business is identified?

Is the information on any label panel except solely on the bottom

(except ornamental containers)?
Are type height requirements of 1.6 mm or greater met?

• Or, if the area of the principal display surface

(definition) (PDS) is 10 cm2 (1.55 inches2) or less, is the
minimum type height 0.8 mm (1/32 inch)?

Is it in English or French?
Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information
on Name and principal place of business.

Date markings

"Best before" date

 Is a "best before" date required (durable life of 90 days or less,
unless exempt food or packaged where sold at retail)?

• If so, is it present?

Is the correct wording "best before / meilleur avant" used in

English and French (or in one language if exempt from bilingual
labelling)?
Is the wording grouped with the date or does it clearly explain the
date if located elsewhere on the label?
Is the presentation (order of info (yr, m, day), use of bilingual
symbols for months) of the date acceptable? - e.g., MA 26
Is the location of the date acceptable (anywhere on the label, with
location specified elsewhere if date is present on bottom)?

"Packaged on" date

Is a "packaged on" date required (durable life of 90 days or less
and packaged where sold at retail, unless exempt food)?

• If so, is it present?

Is the correct wording "packaged on / empaqueté le" used (or in

one language if exempt from bilingual labelling)?
Is the wording grouped with the date or does it clearly explain the
date if located elsewhere on the label?
Is the presentation correct as described above?
Is location of the date acceptable as described above?

Storage instructions
Are storage instructions required? (required if storage conditions
differ from normal room temperature or may be required by food-
specific legislation)

• If so, are they present and complete?

Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for more information on Food-
specific labelling requirements.

Expiration date
Is an "expiration date" required? (food for special dietary use)

• If so, is it present?

Legibility and availability

Is all of the above information legible and readily discernible?
Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information on Date
markings.

Nutrition labelling

Nutrition Facts table (NFt)

Is a NFt present?

• If not, is the product exempt? (or has an NFT been

triggered?)

• If not, does the product haves a small package exemption

less than 100 cm2 available display surface (ADS)? (postal
address or toll-free number?)

Location/orientation

Is the NFt
on the outer package? (except for alternate methods of
presentation)
not destroyed when product is opened? (except for single serve
containers)
on one continuous surface of the ADS?
 placed so that product will not leak or be damaged in order to
view the NFT?

Format
Is the appropriate format family used?

• Standard format: all foods and certain assortments

• Simplified standard: at least seven (7) nutrients/calories = 0

• Dual format: foods requiring preparation/different amounts

• Aggregate format: different kinds/different amounts

• Children under two

Is an appropriate format version (size) chosen within a "family" of

formats?

Contents
Is the serving size reasonable? Does it include a consumer
friendly & metric measure based on the food as sold?
Are energy and the 13 core nutrients declared, unless conditions
for use of simplified format have been satisfied?
Are any non-permitted nutrients declared?
Are triggered nutrients declared?
Have the correct units and % DV (percent Daily Value) been used
when permitted/required?
Are the units rounded as per Regulations?

Presentation
 Colour: is the table background and print in the appropriate
colours?
Is the font and type:

• sans serif?

• bold as required?

• upper case / lower case?

• with no crowding of characters?

Is the information in the correct order?

Is the correct indenting used?
Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information
on Nutrition labelling.

Bilingual requirements
Is all mandatory information referred to in this checklist in
English and French, except the responsible person's name and
address which may be in either French or English?

• If not, does a bilingual exemption apply (shipping container

destined to a commercial or industrial enterprise, specialty
food, local food, test market food)?

Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information

on Bilingual labelling.

Irradiation
Is the food permitted to be irradiated?
 • If so, is there a written statement such as "irradiated" or
"treated with radiation" or "treated by irradiation" and the
international symbol?

• Is the statement legible and readily discernible?

Is the international symbol on the principal display panel?

Does the international symbol meet the minimum size
requirements for the outer diameter?
Are irradiated ingredients that constitute more than 10% of the
final food identified in the list of ingredients as "irradiated"?
Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information
on Irradiated food.

Sweeteners (in addition to list of ingredients requirements)

Does the sweetener used require declaration on the PDP?

• If so, is this statement present?

Is the PDP declaration in the minimum type size required?

Does the sweetener used trigger a NFt?

• If so, is it present with the sweetener content declared?

Does the sweetener used require an amount declaration?

• If so, is it present, in milligrams per serving of stated size,

grouped with the list of ingredients?

If aspartame is used, does the product make a phenylalanine

declaration?
Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information
on Sweeteners.
Country of origin
Is the product one of the following?

• wine and brandy

• dairy products
• honey
• fish and fish products
• fresh fruits or vegetables
• shell egg and processed egg products
• meat and poultry products
• maple products
• processed fruit or vegetable products

• If so, check the food specific labelling requirements, as for

some imported prepackaged products it is mandatory to
state the country of origin. When required use the country
of origin declaration "Product of [Name the country of
origin]".

Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for further information

on Country of origin labelling.

Notes

• All label information provided must be truthful and not

misleading
• Additional federal and provincial regulations may apply to the
product
• Additional commodity-specific requirements may apply to the
product