Product of Canada and Made in Canada
 Voluntary Claims on Food Labels and in Advertising

Modernized labelling guidelines for Product of Canada and Made in Canada voluntary claims are targeted to come into effect on December 31, 2008.

Modernized Food Labelling Guidelines

Under the revised guidelines if Product of Canada appears on the label all major ingredients and labour used to make the food product must come from Canada.

The Made in Canada claim will be used when the food product is manufactured or processed in Canada regardless of whether the ingredients are imported or domestic or both. Before the Made in Canada claim can be used on a food product, the last substantial transformation on the product must have occurred in Canada. The claim would then be qualified with either ‘Made in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients’ or ‘Made in Canada from imported ingredients’.

Other statements or claims can be used if they are truthful and not misleading for consumers (e.g. Roasted in Canada). However, in the interest of responding to consumer expectations, the Government of Canada will encourage industry use of Product of Canada and Made in Canada.

Implementation and Enforcement of the New Guidelines

The modernized guidelines will come into effect on December 31, 2008. It is recognized that many products produced or manufactured before this date may already be on store shelves. However, all products produced after December 31, 2008, should comply with the new guidelines.

Canada’s Commitment to Food Safety

On December 17, 2007, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada's Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan. This is a comprehensive set of proposed measures that will make Canadians safer by legislating tougher federal government regulations of food, health and consumer products. The Plan is supported by a $113 million commitment in Budget 2008. The Government is already working hard to make sure every food product, whether domestic or imported, meets Canada's stringent food safety standards.

While not specifically a food safety issue, the Action Plan also included a commitment to review the existing guidelines on the use of Product of Canada and Made in Canada voluntary claims on food labels and advertising. The revised Product of Canada/Made in Canada guidelines delivers on that commitment by helping Canadians make informed choices about the products they are purchasing.

The Government of Canada held consultations with Canadians and stakeholders on the proposed new guidelines and their implementation. Stakeholder meetings were held, over 1,500 interested parties participated in an online consultation and others wrote or called with their opinions. The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food also held hearings on the matter with a number of witnesses. All comments were considered when finalizing the guidelines.

For more information

Call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday) or visit Government of Canada’s Healthy Canadians website at www.healthycanadians.ca.