Understanding food labels

On this page

• Overview
• What you can expect to find on food labels
  • French and English
  • Common name
  • Net quantity
  • Nutrition facts table
  • List of ingredients
  • Allergen statement
  • Dates
  • Storage and cooking instructions
  • Name and address
  • Front-of-package nutrition symbol
• Understanding claims on food labels
  • Composition claims
  • Quality claims
  • Nutrition claims
  • Origin claim
  • Method of production claims
• When food products change
• Supplemented food labels

Overview

Food labels can help you make informed choices about the food you buy. Use food labels to help you:

• choose products that align with your preferences
• avoid foods with allergens
• spot ingredient and quantity changes
• identify foods that are grown or produced in Canada
• know how to cook and store food safely and keep foods at their freshest

All food sold in Canada, whether domestic or imported, must comply with federal labelling requirements. Companies that produce and sell food are responsible for making sure their labels meet these requirements.

Not all foods are required to have a label and not all foods have the same labelling requirements. The industry labelling tool provides food businesses detailed guidance for how to label different food products, including what products require a label.

Most prepackaged foods sold in Canada require a label. Some information on food labels is mandatory, while other information is voluntary. Regardless of whether the information is mandatory or voluntary, there are specific rules that must be followed.

All information on a food label must be truthful and not misleading. When food is misrepresented, it may be considered food fraud and should be reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

What you can expect to find on food labels

French and English

Most of the mandatory information on food labels must be shown in both French and English. While there are some foods that are exempt from having a bilingual label, in general, a label should be in French and English.

Common name

Food labels are required to have a common name that is either:

• set in regulations (if it is a standardized food)
• the name by which the food is generally known
• a name that is not generic and that describes the food

The common name tells you what a product is. Examples include "cereal", "yogurt" and "orange juice".

Common names cannot be misleading. An example of a misleading common name would be "strawberry rhubarb pie" on a pie that contains no strawberries.

Standardized foods

Standardized foods have a compositional standard (also known as a standard of identity) set in regulations. A compositional standard sets out requirements for the food product, such as:

• what ingredients the product must contain
• which ingredients it may contain
• quality and purity parameters
• prescribed common names
• manufacturing requirements

These standards help you know what to expect from a food. To ensure consistent quality and purity, Canada has over 500 standards that cover many household staples, such as milk, cheese, bacon, flour and chocolate.

Net quantity

Net quantity is the amount of food in the package. It must be present on the principal display panel (usually the front panel) and accurately reflect the contents of the package. The labelled weight does not include the weight of the packaging.

In general, it is not acceptable to underfill a container. There are, however, some products where it is necessary to leave extra space. For example, extra space in a potato chip bag helps keep your chips from getting crushed. Extra space might also be provided so the product can be prepared in the container, for example, leaving room to add water in a cup of noodles.

Consult Under-weight and under-filled food products: 5 things to know and how to report it for more information.

Nutrition facts table

Most packaged foods in Canada must have a nutrition facts table, which shows:

• the serving size
• how many calories are in that serving size
• the amount of 12 nutrients expressed in units like grams (g) and milligrams (mg), per serving size
• the percent daily values (% DVs)

List of ingredients

Most prepackaged foods in Canada with more than one ingredient must have a list of ingredients. This list shows all the ingredients in the food starting with the ingredient that weighs the most and ending with the ingredient that weighs the least.

This list also provides important information to people with food allergies and intolerances to certain ingredients.

Allergen statement

Allergen statements help people avoid potentially serious allergic and sensitivity reactions to foods. Packaged food products that contain priority food allergens and gluten sources must include them in the list of ingredients and/or in a statement that begins with "Contains" on their label.

Precautionary (cross-contamination) statements

Companies may also include a precautionary statement if there is a possibility that a food allergen could be in a food product through cross-contamination. It is recommended that companies identify these possibilities by using "May contain" statements (for example, "May contain soy").

Consult Before you shop: food allergies and allergen labelling for more information.

Dates

There are different kinds of date labels, depending on the product. The most common ones are "best before" dates, "packaged on" dates and "expiration" dates.

Consult Understanding the date labels on your food for more information.

Storage and cooking instructions

Storage instructions provide information on storage conditions, for example:

• keep refrigerated
• store in a cool, dry place

Storage instructions are mandatory on foods that require a best before date when the storage conditions differ from normal room temperature.

For most foods, cooking instructions are not mandatory, but they are required for certain meat products, such as mechanically tenderized beef and prepackaged meat that could be mistaken for a ready-to-eat product.

Name and address

The name and address of the person or company responsible for the product must appear on prepackaged food products in either French or English. If you have questions about a product, you can contact the company using the information on the label.

Front-of-package nutrition symbol

As of January 1, 2026, a front-of-package nutrition symbol will be required on foods that are high in one or more of these nutrients:

• saturated fat
• sugars
• sodium

This symbol can help you find healthier options by comparing and choosing products with little to no added sodium, sugars, or saturated fat.

Understanding claims on food labels

Most claims on food labels are voluntary and are generally used to highlight characteristics that consumers may find desirable. Examples include:

• the presence or absence of ingredients
• origin of the product (this is mandatory for certain foods and voluntary for others)
• potential health benefits
• method of production (for example, organic, halal, grain fed)

Claims must be truthful and not misleading. Companies should be able to provide evidence to support any claim.

Composition claims

Composition claims are voluntary and either highlight ingredients or flavours, or emphasize that certain ingredients are not present. Examples of composition claims include:

• Made with 100% fruit juice
• Made with whole grains
• No added preservatives or artificial flavours
• Vegetarian

Companies cannot overemphasize the presence of an ingredient to make it seem more desirable. In principle, a claim that emphasizes an ingredient, component or substance should be accompanied by a statement about the amount that is present in the food.

When companies claim an ingredient is absent or has been removed, it must be totally absent in the food product.

Negative claims indicate the absence of ingredients and cannot give the false impression that this ingredient is in other similar products. For example, a company could not include a "no colour added" claim on a hotdog label, because colour is not permitted in any hotdog in Canada.

Quality claims

Examples of quality claims include claims regarding grades, freshness and certification.

Certain products include a grade name on the label, like Canada Fancy or Grade A. Depending on the food commodity, grades are either mandatory or used on a voluntary basis. Grades establish product quality requirements (such as flavour, colour, size), not safety requirements.

The term "fresh" may be used to describe the nature, the age of a food, or the organoleptic qualities (such as such as flavour, texture, appearance and smell). It may also be used as part of a trade name or brand name provided that these names comply with the requirements.

Descriptive terms implying certification (such as "certified", "approved" or "certificate of analysis") may be used if the consumer knows the facts about the "certification" or "approval" or they are shown on the label or in the advertisement. One acceptable use of certification, for example, is the organic logo which indicates that the product is certified organic by an accredited organic certification body under the Canada Organic Regime.

Learn more about these and other types of quality claims.

Nutrition claims

Nutrition claims are optional statements that highlight specific nutrients, foods or ingredients. There are 2 types of nutrition claims:

• nutrient content claims: describe the amount of a nutrient in a food (for example, good source of fibre)
• health claims: describe potential health effects when the food is consumed as part of a healthy diet (for example, oat fibre helps lower cholesterol)

Origin claim

Certain food products must indicate the country of origin on food labels.

Companies may also make voluntary claims to highlight the origin of a product or ingredient in a product.

Method of production claims

Method of production claims are voluntary claims that give information on how products are produced, grown, handled or manufactured. Examples include:

• natural
• grain fed
• genetically engineered

The following method of production claims have specific regulatory requirements that must be met:

• organic
• kosher
• halal

When food products change

Food manufacturers are allowed to make changes to their products as long as they are still following food safety and labelling rules. This could include things like changing the ingredients or the net quantity. They are required to update the label to be accurate, but it's not always obvious when changes are made. That's why it is important to check the label every time, especially if you or someone in your household has food allergies.

Supplemented food labels

Supplemented foods have supplemental ingredients, like vitamins, minerals, amino acids and caffeine, added for purposes other than nutrition. Examples include beverages with added vitamins and minerals, granola bars with added vitamins and caffeinated energy drinks.

As of January 1, 2026, supplemented food labels will be required to carry:

• a supplemented food facts table (similar to the nutrition facts table on other foods)
• a caution identifier and cautionary statements if the supplemented foods contain certain types or amounts of supplemental ingredients that can pose a health risk if consumed in excess, or consumed by those who are pregnant, under the age of 14 or part of another vulnerable group