Country of Origin Labelling

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The Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations require information regarding the party responsible for the product to be available on the label of all prepackaged food products sold in Canada, this includes both domestic and imported food products (detailed information on this requirement can be found on the Name and Address webpage).

For some commodities, additional federal regulations require country-of-origin declarations on the label. For example, under the Canadian Agricultural Products Act and the Meat Inspection Act, the country of origin must be declared on the label of certain imported meat, dairy products, honey, maple products, poultry, eggs, and fresh and processed fruit and vegetable products. This requirement can be met either by indicating "Product of [Naming the Country]" or including the name of the country of origin in the dealer's name and principal place of business. Likewise, under the Food and Drugs Act and Fish Inspection Act respectively, certain alcoholic beverages and some fish and shellfish products are required to declare their country of origin on the label. For country of origin requirements specific to a commodity, see the Commodity Specific Labelling and Advertising webpage and select the appropriate commodity.

It is important to note that products destined for export markets must be identified in the manner required by the importing country.

In some cases, a company may choose to voluntarily declare the country of origin of the food product on the label, in order to further assist consumers in their purchasing decisions. A company may also choose to apply an origin claim regarding their food product or an ingredient contained within their food product. Guidance on the use of these types of claims can be found on the Origin Claims webpage.