Archived - Comment on: Proposed Food Labelling Modernization regulatory amendments

About the consultation

On June 22, 2019, the Government of Canada published proposed changes to labelling requirements in the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has launched a 75-day public consultation on proposed amendments to the FDR and the SFCR under the Food Labelling Modernization (FLM) initiative.

Objective

CFIA's FLM initiative is aimed at developing a more modern and innovative food labelling system that meets the needs of consumers and industry.

The amendments under CFIA's FLM initiative would provide consistency around food labels. This would promote innovation and facilitate trade for industry, while allowing consumers to make more informed decisions on what foods they buy. The proposals include several changes to provide clearer information on food labels; including where imported food comes from, what the food contains, and how long the quality of the food will last.

The changes would provide Canada's food industry with increased flexibility in labelling requirements. This is necessary in an evolving food environment and helps facilitate market access for Canadian food businesses by better aligning Canada's labelling requirements with international standards and those of key trading partners. They would also amend outdated and unnecessary regulations and incorporate certain documents by reference to make it easier to amend regulations in response to new innovation.

Who is the focus of this consultation

CFIA wants to hear from all interested parties, including:

• consumers and the general public
• domestic manufacturers
• importers, distributors and retailers
• industry associations
• health associations
• other government departments
• international partners

What we are consulting on

Review and provide your comments on the proposed changes in the links below.

• Regulations amending the Food and Drug Regulations
• Regulations amending the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
• Proposed documents to be Incorporated by Reference – Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and Food and Drug Regulations

We also want to hear from you on origin labelling for imported products

CFIA is seeking specific feedback from consumers, industry and other stakeholders on how to indicate the origin labelling for imported products including your views on acceptable statements for origin labelling of imported foods.

How to submit your comments

We welcome your feedback on all the proposed changes. Please email, mail or fax us by September 4, 2019. Correspondence should indicate "FLM CG1 Comments" in the subject line.

CFIA is organizing webinars to provide information on the proposed changes to industry and other stakeholders and give you the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. If you want to participate, please register here.

Contact us

By email: cfia.labellingmodernization-modernisationetiquetage.acia@canada.ca

By mail:

Director, Consumer Protection and Market Fairness Division
Food Safety and Consumer Protection Directorate
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
1400 Merivale Road, Tower 2, Floor 6
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0Y9

By fax: 613-773-5603

Related information

• News release – Government of Canada moves a step forward to modernize its food labelling system
• Overview of the proposed regulatory changes for the Food Labelling Modernization initiative
• Questions and answers
• Notice to industry: Prepublication of regulatory changes for food labelling modernization
• Food Labelling Modernization initiative