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Making a nutrient content claim on food labels

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Conditions for making a nutrient content claim

There are some general conditions related to the wording and visual representation of nutrient content claims which are outlined below.

Note: Conditions for making a quantitative declaration outside the Nutrition Facts table can be found in the appropriate section.

Language

When a nutrient content claim, as set out in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims, is made, it must be in both English and French, unless a bilingual labelling exemption applies to the product [B.01.501, FDR].

Altering the wording of permitted nutrient content claims

The wording for nutrient content claims set out in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims is prescriptive. Word-sets shown in quotations must not be altered unless permitted. The table below shows acceptable and unacceptable ways of making claims [B.01.511, FDR]:

Altering nutrient content claims
Nutrient content claim alteration Examples

Words, numbers, signs or symbols may accompany a label or advertising claim, providing they precede or follow the statement or claim, but are not interposed between the words of the statement or claim (subject to the requirements set out in the next 3 rows in this table) [B.01.511(1), FDR].

Unacceptable:
"100% deliciously fat-free"
Acceptable:
"delicious and 100% fat-free"

Words such as "very", "ultra" and "extra" and other words, numbers, signs or symbols that change the nature of the statement or claim are prohibited [B.01.511(2), FDR].

Unacceptable:
"ultra low fat", "extra high protein", "super low energy", "a lot less", "lots", "more", "some", "at least", "approximately", "extreme", "hardly", "maximum", "plus", "instant", etc.

The brand name of a food may not accompany a claim regarding a food that has not been processed, formulated, reformulated or otherwise modified in order to meet the conditions set out for that claim [B.01.511(3), FDR].

Unacceptable:
"Brand Y olive oil is cholesterol free."
"Brand X low fat carrots."
"Like all carrots, Brand X carrots are low in fat."
Acceptable:
"Low in fat – all carrots are low in fat."
"Carrots are low in fat."

Any claim regarding a food that has not been processed, formulated, reformulated or otherwise modified in order to meet the conditions set out for that claim, shall relate to all foods of that type and not only the specified food [B.01.511(4), FDR].

Unacceptable:
On an apple sauce label: "Low in fat"
Acceptable:
"Low in fat – all apple sauces are low in fat."
"Olive oil, a cholesterol-free food"

When more than 1 of the claims in column 4 of the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims are made on the label or in the advertisement for a food, the common elements of the claims may be conjoined rather than repeated [B.01.512, FDR].

Acceptable:
"low in fat" + "low in sodium" = "low in fat and sodium"

Size, prominence, location

Claim conditions

When a claim is made on the label or in any advertisement, all of the words, numbers, signs or symbols that are part of the claim must be of the same size and prominence [B.01.503(3), FDR]. This includes all words of the claim having the same font, height, colour and bolding.

This requirement is for words, numbers, signs and symbols within each individual claim. When multiple claims are present, or the same claim in English and French is present, the size and prominence of the claims (including words, numbers, signs or symbols that precede or follow the claim) do not have to match.

Accompanying information conditions

When a claim is made on the food label, the information required to accompany the claim must be adjacent, without intervening material, to the most prominent claim on the principal display panel (PDP). If the claim is not on the front label, the accompanying information must be grouped with the most prominent claim elsewhere on the label, in letters of the same size and prominence as the claim [B.01.504, FDR]. A box around the words of a claim or around the accompanying information is considered intervening material and is not permitted.

When multiple claims, as set out in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims, are conjoined, the accompanying information can also be conjoined provided:

For more information, please refer to the Decision trees for nutrient content claim advertising requirements.

Prominence when a front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbol is present

When both a nutrition symbol and a health-related representation, such as a nutrient content claim, appear on the PDP of a prepackaged product, size restrictions apply to the characters (words, numbers, signs or symbols) that are part of the claim [B.01.327, FDR].

For more information, refer to Do restrictions apply to the size of health-related representations displayed on the PDP when a food also carries the symbol of the Front-of-package nutrition symbol labelling guide for industry.

Information triggered by making a claim

In some cases, nutrient content claims are found on foods that hold exemptions or prohibitions from showing a Nutrition Facts table (NFt). Making a claim on these products triggers certain labelling requirements.

Products exempt from nutrition labelling

Non-prepackaged products and prepackaged products exempt from showing an NFt and a nutrition symbol are permitted to make nutrient content claims or other permitted nutrition-related statements or representations on either the label for the food and/or in an advertisement. However, if a claim is made by or for the manufacturer on a prepackaged product with a nutrition labelling exemption, it nullifies the exemption and triggers:

When nutrient content claims are made, the label or advertisement must also comply with all the prescribed requirements, as applicable:

The NFt is not required in the following cases:

However, in the first 2 cases above marked with an asterisk (*), a quantitative declaration of the applicable energy value or nutrient amount to support the claim must appear either on the label or in the advertisement [B.01.503(1)(c), FDR].

Claims made on labels of small packages

Foods with an available display surface (ADS) of less than 100 cm2 are considered to be small packages. They do not have to carry a Nutrition Facts table (NFt) if the outer side of the product label indicates how consumers may obtain the nutrition information that would otherwise be required in an NFt on the label.

However, when the labels on foods with an ADS of less than 100 cm2 carry a nutrient content claim, statement or representation, the labels must display an NFt. They would no longer qualify to use a toll free telephone number or postal address.

In these cases, the options for smaller packages in the Nutrition Fact table formats section will apply, including the specific alternate methods of presentation listed in B.01.466(1) of the FDR:

Despite this requirement, sugar-free products sold in packages with an ADS of less than 100 cm2 will not lose their ability to include a toll-free number or postal address in place of an NFt, given certain conditions are met [B.01.467(2.1), FDR]. For more information and the list of conditions, refer to the Never losing the < 100 cm2 ADS exemption section.

When the label on a food with an ADS of less than 100 cm2 is required to declare an NFt, this triggers the need to assess the saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium content of the product to determine whether a nutrition symbol is required. The size of the nutrition symbol required is proportional to the principal display surface (PDS) of the product [B.01.352(1), FDR]. For information on which nutrition symbol to use based on the size of the PDS, refer to What is the symbol size based on in the Front-of-package nutrition symbol labelling guide for industry.

Claims made on foods prohibited from showing a Nutrition Facts table

Certain foods are prohibited from showing an NFt, or using the words "Nutrition Facts" or the French equivalents [B.01.401(5), FDR]. For a complete list of these foods, please refer to the Prohibitions section.

The regulations for these foods already stipulate the required nutrition information that must appear on the label. However, these foods are permitted to make some nutrient content claims and other permitted claims on their labels and in advertising, unless the product is prohibited from being advertised to the general public, for example, formulated liquid diets or foods for use in very low energy diets. A quantitative declaration of the energy value or amount of nutrient that is the subject of the claim must be made if this information is not already provided in the nutrition information [B.01.301, FDR]. Note that column 2 of the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims sets out requirements for some claims based on both the serving size and the reference amount, which are set out in the Table of Reference Amounts for Food.

For further details, refer to Information triggered by quantitative statements.

Claims made on foods carrying a front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbol

Most health-related representations, such as nutrient content claims, are permitted on the principal display panel (PDP) when the product carries a nutrition symbol.

However, some nutrient content claims are prohibited. For more information, please refer to Nutrient and health-related claims and the front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbol in the Front-of-package nutrition symbol labelling guide for industry.

Implied nutrient content claims

The Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) specify that implied claims that characterize the energy value of the food or the amount of nutrient contained in the food are prohibited [B.01.502(1), FDR].

Some examples of implied nutrient content claims are:

Implied nutrient content claims are not acceptable on their own; they must immediately be preceded or followed by the permitted claim found in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims. The provision for the use of implied claims is found in section B.01.511 of the FDR, which allows for other words, numbers, signs or symbols that do not change the nature of the claim to precede or follow the statements or claims in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims. All of the criteria for the claim in the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims must also be met. See Altering the wording of permitted nutrient content claims and Specific nutrient content claim requirements for more information.

Examples of acceptable implied claims – (when all above requirements are met)
Implied claim Immediately preceded or followed by:
omega-3 source of omega-3 polyunsaturates
non-hydrogenated free of trans fatty acids
no tropical oilstable note 1 free of saturated fatty acids
energy shake source of energy
fibre bar source of fibre
semi-salted lightly salted or reduced in sodium
made with soy protein source of protein
25% less oil 25% less fat (reduced in fat or lower in fat claims, item 13 or 14 of the Table of Permitted Nutrient Content Statements and Claims)

Other implied claims will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis to assess whether they change the nature of the prescribed nutrient content claim.

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