Chapter 7 - Packaging and labelling

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7.8 Other labelling requirements

(a)  Principal display surface - principal display panel

For "principal display surface" and "principal display panel" see definitions in Section 2 of the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990. In addition, the principal display surface of a label on a round can shall not exceed 50% of the total cylindrical circumference of the can. For layouts, see Annex C.

Generally, mandatory information must appear on the principal display panel except as provided by the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990. In order to provide some flexibility in design, minor deviations to the above will be considered when the need arises. If a vignette or an illustration is printed on the label, then it shall be part of the principal display panel.

The principal display panel is the panel of a container that incorporates the label. It is permissible to use two principal display panels, one with an English label and the other with French label. In this instance both labels must contain all mandatory information.

In the case of meat products packaged in cylindrical containers, such as cans, the space corresponding to the top of the container shall contain the following information:

• the Meat Inspection Legend (see 7.6.5); and
• the name and address of the registered establishment where the meat product was produced or labelled or of the person for whom the meat product was produced or labelled, preceded by the words "Prepared for" and "Préparé pour" (see 7.6.4).

In such cases, the information required under subsection 60(3) of the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990 (identification of the establishment where the meat product was produced and date of production) must be legible and must not conceal the information indicated on the container.

(b)  Colour contrast and label design

Good colour contrast must be maintained in order that all mandatory statements are readily legible.

Particular attention shall be paid to the Meat Inspection Legend, which must not be altered in any way, and shall be separate from, and shall not form an integral part of, any special pattern or design on the container.

7.9 Cutting and labelling requirements of poultry parts

The following is a description of poultry parts generally prepared in registered establishments.

1. Trimmed Breasts shall be breasts separated from the back at the shoulder joint and by a cut running backward and downward from that point along the junction of the vertebral and sternal ribs. The ribs may be removed from the breast, and the breast may be cut along the breast bone to make two approximately equal halves; or the wishbone portion, as described in (c) may be removed before cutting the remainder along the breast bone to make three parts. Pieces cut in this manner may be substituted for lighter or heavier pieces, for exact weight-making purposes, and the package may contain two or more of such parts without affecting the appropriateness of the labelling as "Trimmed Breasts". Neck skin shall not be included.
2. Breasts shall be separated from the back at the junction of the vertebral ribs and back. Such breasts, with ribs, may be cut along the breast bone to make two approximately equal halves; or the wishbone portion, as described in (c) may be removed before cutting the remainder along the breast bone to make three parts. Pieces cut in this manner may be substituted for lighter or heavier pieces, for exact weight-making purposes, and the package may contain two or more of such parts without affecting the appropriateness of the labelling as "Breasts". Neck skin shall not be included.
3. Wishbones (clavicle or pulley bones) with covering muscle and skin tissue shall be severed from the breast approximately halfway between the end of the wishbone (through the hypocleidium ligament) and front point of the breast bone (anterior part, cranial process of the sternal crest) to a point where the wishbone joins the shoulder. Neck skin shall not be included.
4. Drumsticks shall be separated from the thigh by a cut through the knee joint (femorotibial and patellar joint) and from the foot at the hock joint (tarsal joint).
5. Thighs shall be disjointed at the hip and may include the pelvic meat, but shall not include the pelvic bones. Back skin shall not be included.
6. Legs shall include the whole leg, i.e. the thigh and the drumstick, whether jointed or disjointed. Back skin shall not be included.
7. Wings shall include the entire wing with all muscles and skin tissue intact, except that the wing tip may be removed. Wings shall be separated from the breast by a cut through the shoulder joint (articulation of the clavicle, coracoid and humerus).
8. Wing Drumettes shall be separated from the breast by a cut through the shoulder joint (articulation of the clavicle, coracoid and humerus) and from the winglet at the elbow joint (articulation of humerus, radius and ulna) and include the muscles and skin normally adherent. Wing Drumettes correspond to the full length of the humerus bone.
9. Winglets (V Wings) shall be the wings less the Wing Drumettes except that part of the wing tip may be removed.
10. Backs shall include the pelvic bones and all the vertebrae posterior to the shoulder joint. The meat shall not be peeled from the pelvic bones. The vertebral ribs and/or scapula may be removed or included without affecting the appropriateness of the description. Skin shall be substantially intact.
11. Stripped Backs shall include the vertebrae from the shoulder joint to the tail, and include the pelvic bones. The meat may be stripped off from the pelvic bones.
12. Necks with or without neck skin shall be separated from the carcass at the shoulder joint.
13. Halves shall consist of whole poultry carcasses, excluding the necks, which have been cut at the median line dividing the carcass into two equal portions.
14. Front Quarters shall consist of the front portions of a poultry half which has been cut along the line immediately behind the rib cage (posterior border of the seventh rib to the posterior border of the seventh thoracic vertebra).
15. Hindquarters shall consist of the hind portion of a poultry half which has been cut along a line immediately behind the rib cage (posterior border of the seventh rib to the posterior border of the seventh thoracic vertebra).
16. Breast Fillets are round elongated muscles (deep pectoral) found on either side of the keel bone (sternum).

Parts of poultry not cut in accordance with the above described anatomical definitions are permissible, so long as the label appropriately reflects the true and complete description of such poultry cuts. For example, breasts from which bones/cartilage have been removed shall be described as "boneless breasts". Breasts from which bones/cartilage and "Breast fillets" have been removed shall be described as "boneless breast, fillet removed".

The Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations require giblets to be included with graded poultry carcasses unless otherwise stated on the label. The labels of cut-up whole carcasses that include the giblets must carry a statement to the effect that giblets are present.

7.10 Acceptable methods of labelling meat products in artificial casings

The three following methods are acceptable:

1. the printing of all mandatory requirements on the artificial casing;
2. an insert label with all mandatory information, provided the artificial casing is individually sealed; and
3. the establishment number printed directly on the casing and the mandatory information printed on a string tag label, wrap-around label or pressure-sensitive label.

7.11 Labelling of volume retail packages

Generally consumer size containers weigh 5 kg or less. However, volume retail packages are acceptable provided that:

1. they have all mandatory information printed on the principal display panel, except that the product description and ingredient list, if applicable, may be stencilled, stamped or applied by means of a pressure-sensitive label; and
2. the unmarked inner packages are not intended for individual sale to consumers.

7.12 Labelling of shipping containers

(1) General

All of the information required by the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990 to be placed on a shipping container may be pre-printed, applied by on-line printing or applied by means of a printed pressure-sensitive label. Only the weight may be handwritten (handwritten product description is not acceptable) and it is also permitted to apply the product name (only) by means of a check-off system, stamping or stencilling.

Regardless of the mechanism used for providing information on a shipping container, certain criteria must be met in order for the container to be considered acceptable for movement out of a registered establishment:

1. The required information shall be grouped together and must be positioned on the container in a manner that allows it to be easily legible by any person inspecting the exterior of the container under normal conditions of sale or use.
2. The required information must be shown using a font style and size to be easily legible. For the purposes of this chapter, this means readable for a normal-sighted person from an arm's length distance. The size and characteristics of the Meat Inspection Legend shall meet the requirements outlined in Section 93 of the Meat Inspection Regulations, 1990.
3. The required information must be shown in a colour of type that provides significant contrast between the printed information and the background by virtue of tint and/or colour.

(2) Marking of shipping containers for beef hearts

Shipping containers, Canadian and foreign, for beef hearts shall bear the product description in one of the following manners in either English or French or both:

1. Beef Hearts Bone In;
2. Beef Hearts Bone Removed; or
3. Beef Hearts
   Bone In
   Bone Removed.

(3) Beef grades - marking requirements

Section 13 of the Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations specifies the grade labelling requirements for beef products shipped from registered establishments or imported into Canada. Specifically, it requires that a beef carcass or a portion thereof, including a sub-primal cut, not be imported or shipped from a registered establishment, unless:

1. The beef is packed in a container or bulk container and that container or bulk container is marked with the grade name of the product or in the case of ungraded beef with the words "ungraded beef". It should be noted that for Canadian products the grade category or the statement "ungraded beef" is not required on the shipping container of fully labelled prepackaged beef cuts (portions) when the grade statement appears on the label of the prepackaged meat product. As a reminder, the label of a prepackaged meat product bears all the markings required under the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations in order to be sold directly to the Consumer (see 7.15 (1)).
2. The beef is not packed in a container or bulk container and the beef is either graded and marked as required by the Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations (or as required by the country of origin in the case of imported beef) or treated as ungraded. The documentation that accompanies the meat product shall indicate the grade name or indicate that it is ungraded beef.

Note: Documentation for imported beef refers to the Official Meat Inspection Certificate. Documentation for domestic beef may be the invoice or equivalent.

In the case of imported beef, the Canadian grade equivalent may also be shown on the container or bulk container when such a grade equivalency has been agreed upon.

The mixing in a container or bulk container of beef cuts of different grades is permitted as follows:

1. Canadian beef graded Canada A, Canada AA and Canada AAA may be mixed provided the container is marked with a single grade name corresponding to the lowest grade quality marbling level and the expression "or higher" or "ou plus" (French equivalent) (e.g. "Canada A or higher"). The use of this single grade name identification employing the expression "or higher" implies that there may be some meat cuts derived from higher grades of beef in a container so marked.
2. Canadian beef graded any of the Canada B or Canada D grades or the Canada E grade may be mixed provided the specific grade names of the product are marked on the container. Example: "Canada B2/B3/D3/E".
3. Canadian beef graded in the A grades shall not be mixed with non A grade product or ungraded product and be identified by grade name (e.g. the marking of a container "Canada A/AA/B2" is not permitted).
4. Containers of ungraded product must be marked with the words "ungraded beef". Should establishments wish to mix graded and ungraded product, the containers must be marked as ungraded. Establishments may also have the option of marking containers of graded beef as ungraded.
5. Imported beef may also be mixed for different grades provided the specific grade names for the product are marked on the container.

Note: The operator of a registered establishment is responsible for the accuracy of the grade labelling. When repackaging cuts that originate from a mixed-grade container, these cuts may be marked with a specific grade only if each original cut was individually marked with a grade and the grade can be verified. Example: A mixed-grade container marked "Canada B2/B3/D3/E" contains mixed cuts on which the grade B2 or B3 or D3 or E has been directly applied by the means of a stamp or a sealed bag. In this case, the grade of a cut is easily identified and verifiable. Therefore the derived cuts can be marked accordingly with the grade "Canada B2" or "Canada B3" or "Canada D3" or "Canada E".

(4) Product descriptions for meat cuts on shipping containers

(i) Red meat codes

The following options for product descriptions on shipping containers for domestic and imported red meat cuts may be used:

1. full product description: names of the meat cuts in the Lexicon produced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency must be used; or
2. a generic description as "Bone-in" or "Boneless" species meat. In this case, a code from the list below may be used to designate the appropriate cut. The code designation is to be displayed on the main panel and/or the end panel of the shipping container.

The standard codes on the list for red meat cuts are the ones that have been agreed upon between the Canadian Meat Council and the Canadian Meat Importer's Association. These codes are also used by the major meat exporting countries, i.e. Australia, New Zealand and the USA. The updating of the list of codes and the enforcement of its use is the responsibility of industry and not that of the inspection personnel.

For import shipments, the product description on the foreign meat inspection certificate must be the same as the one used on the containers (i.e. Boneless Beef on the carton and Boneless Beef on the certificate; or Boneless Beef Sirloin Tip on the carton and Boneless Beef Sirloin Tip on the certificate).

Codes for Boneless and Bone-In Cuts

BEEF CUTS	CODE
Top sirloin butts	TRI
Clods	CLO
Shank meat	SHK
Flanks	FL
Eye rounds	EY
Insides	INS
Outsides	OUT
Knuckles	KNK
Chucks	CHU
Trimmings	TRMG
Striploins (Boneless striploin)	STL
Front quarter	F
Hind quarter	H
Blended carcass beef	FH
Point end briskets	PEB
Chuck tenders	CT
Rib eyes	RBE
Shortloins	SL
Flank steaks	FLS
Tenderloins	TDR
Rib	RB
Blade	BL
Plate	P
Brisket (point end brisket)	PEB
Brisket (navel end brisket)	NEB

 

PORK CUTS	CODE
Feet	FT
Ham	HM
Butt	BT
Loin	LN
Side ribs	SDR
Shoulders butt	SH
Picnic	PIC
Hock	HOC
Belly	BLY
Tenderloin	TDR
Back ribs	BKR
Trimmings	T

 

VEAL CUTS	CODE
Legs	LEG
Loins	LON
Shoulders	SHD

 

MUTTON CUTS	CODE
Trunks	TRK

 

LAMB CUTS	CODE
Legs	LEG
Loins	LON
Shoulders	SHD
Racks	RCK

 

SEX IDENTIFICATION	CODE
Steer	S
Cow	C
Cow and Steer	C
Bull	B

WRAPPING OF MEAT CUTS

WRAPPING	CODE
Individually wrapped primal cuts	IW
Vacuum packed, individually wrapped primal cuts	IW/VAC
Layer packed primal cuts	LP
Vacuum packed, layer packed primal cuts	LP/VAC
Vacuum packed primal cuts	VAC
Where more than one primal cut is wrapped in a single covering	MW
Where more than one primal cut is vacuum packed in a single covering	MW/VAC

(ii) Poultry and poultry cuts codes

Agreement has been reached with the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council on the acceptable use of the following abbreviations and codes for product descriptions on shipping containers for poultry and poultry cuts. Abbreviations and product codes are not accepted on consumer packages or on shipping containers of imported poultry products.

When product codes are used, they will always use the following sequence of abbreviations, each separated by an oblique slash ("/"): Species / Cut / Modifier (if applicable) / Process (if applicable). For example, the product code on the label for a box of Skinless Chicken thighs packed in modified atmosphere would be: "CHK/TH/SKLS/MA".

If the label already includes the full species name, there is no need to repeat the species abbreviation within the product code. For example, it would be acceptable to use "Young duck TB/SKLS/MA" to describe the contents of a box of skinless, trimmed young duck breasts packaged under modified atmosphere.

If more than one modifier apply to the product, the "modifier" abbreviations should be grouped together and separated by a comma. For example, the acceptable product code for the shipping container label of Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts would be: "CHK/BR/BNLS,SKLS".

If there is no modifier which applies, but the operator wishes to include a process abbreviation, they should separate the "Cut" abbreviation from the "Process" abbreviation by two oblique slashes ("//") to indicate that no modifier applies to the product (for example: "CHK/TH//MA").

If an operator is using the same container to ship different products, each product will need to be coded separately and a semi-colon used to distinguish the codes for the two types of product. For example, if the operator is shipping chicken back-on thighs in the same carton as chicken breasts, the accepted abbreviation would be: "CHK/TH/BA;CHK/BR".

SPECIES	CODE
Chicken	CHK
Chicken capon	CHC
Rock cornish hen	RCH
Mature chicken	MCH
Old rooster	ORT
Young turkey	YTK
Mature turkey	MTK
Young duck	YDK
Mature duck	MDK
Young goose	YGS
Mature goose	MGS
Guinea fowl	GFL
Ostrich	OST
Partridge	PAR
Pheasant	PHE
Pigeon	PGN
Quail	QUL

 

CUT	CODE
Carcass	CAR
Half	HA
Front quarter	FQ
Hind quarter	HQ
Wing	WG
Wing drumette	WD
Winglet	WT
Leg	LG
Thigh	TH
Drumstick	DR
Breast	BR
Half breast	HB
Wish bone	WO
Trimmed breast	TB
Breast fillet	BF
Whole back	WB
Back	BK
Stripped back	SB
Neck	NK
Giblet	GB
Liver	LV
Heart	HT
Gizzard	GZ
Regular ground	RG
Medium ground	MG
Lean ground	LN
Extra lean ground	EL

 

MODIFIER	CODE
Boneless	BNLS
Skinless	SKLS
Basted	BAS
Breaded	BRE
Rolled	ROL
Stuffed	STU
Tied	TI
Trimmed	TRI
Back attached	BA
Piece (8 pc. 9 pc)	PC

 

PROCESS	CODE
Modified atmosphere	MA
For further processing	FFP

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