Find out where to report a food complaint or concern

Permanent residence in the province of Quebec

Report it to the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ). MAPAQ is responsible for the initial follow-up of all consumer complaints concerning food in Quebec.

Issue related to food poisoning (foodborne illness)

If you are ill, contact your doctor.

If you became sick after eating out (for example at a restaurant, or after attending an event), contact your local public health unit so they can follow up on your complaint. These issues are generally handled by provincial regional or municipal authorities.

If you became sick after eating food purchased at a retail or grocery store, report your food-related concern to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Issue related to allergic reaction or injury due to a food product, food for babies or infants, incorrect labelling, food fraud or misrepresentation

Report your food-related concern to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Issue related to foreign objects

Although discovering a foreign object in your food is very unpleasant, it is not always a health risk.

Here are some common issues that are not considered a food safety risk.

Foreign objects such as metal, glass, pieces of plastic, rocks, and insects should be reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Issue related to natural objects

Although discovering a natural object in your food is very unpleasant, it is not always a health risk.

Here are some common issues that are not considered a food safety risk.

Natural objects such as rocks, leaves, and insects should be reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Quality issue

Although discovering a problem with your food is very unpleasant, it is not always a health risk.

These include issues such as mold, best before dates, discolouration, decay, and off-smell.

Here are some common issues that are not considered a food safety risk.

If your food product was sold past its best before date:

Best-before dates (BB) are not indicators of food safety, neither before nor after the date. As it is not illegal to sell a product that is past its best-before date, you can use this information to consider how the food may have changed in terms of its freshness, flavour, texture and/or nutritional value before purchasing.

If your food product was past its expiration date:

An expiration date is not the same as a best-before date. Expiration dates are only required on certain foods such as meal replacement products and baby formula.

After the expiration date, the food may not have the same nutrient content as declared on the label. Food should not be bought, sold or eaten if the expiration date has passed.

You should report food sold after its expiration date to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Issue related to a restaurant

This includes concerns or complaints about dirty restaurants, bad food handling practices, the actions of cooks and food servers, adverse reactions or illness from the food.

These issues are generally handled by provincial, regional or municipal authorities.

Issue related to a grocery or retail store

This includes concerns or complaints about dirty stores, sightings of mice or insects, bad food handling practices or the actions of store staff.

These issues are handled by provincial, regional or municipal authorities.

Issue related to caffeinated energy drinks

Report a complaint about an energy drink to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Other issue

For any other food-related complaints or concerns not referenced above, please report your concern to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.