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Record of food labelling and advertising updates

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The food label is one of the most important and direct means of communicating product information between buyers and sellers. This page outlines food labelling and advertising updates.

Note: Minor amendments, such as typographical errors, that do not alter the content of the information, are not listed.

Find a food labelling update

Date Item Nature of changes
March 2024 Industry Labelling Tool The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to reflect the July 20, 2022 amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) related to front-of-package nutrition symbols, other labelling provisions, vitamin D and hydrogenated fats or oils.
December 2023 Meat and poultry products The Retained water declaration for raw single-ingredient meat products section of the Meat and poultry products page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to add a hyperlink to the Poultry water retention control program.
December 2023 Origin claims The Origin claims page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to clarify the use of official symbols of the Government of Canada.
October 2023 Simulated meat and simulated poultry products The Simulated meat and simulated poultry products page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to clarify regulatory requirements for simulated meat or poultry products, as well as foods made mostly of plant-based ingredients that do not meet the definition of a simulated meat or poultry product.
September 2023

Meat and poultry products

Processed egg products

Fish and fish products

The Inspection legend sections of the Meat and poultry products, Processed egg products and Fish and fish products pages of the Industry Labelling Tool have been updated to remove the mention of the transitional measure that permitted use of the former inspection legend until December 13, 2022.
July 2023 Organic claims The Organic page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to clarify acceptable uses of terms such as "certified organic" when declaring the name of a certification body on a product label.
June 2023 Permitted synonyms for food additives table Addition of synonyms for "Dimethyl dicarbonate" to the Permitted synonyms for food additives table.
May 2023 List of ingredients and allergens The General requirements section of the List of ingredients and allergens page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to clarify guidance on labelling of food allergens, gluten and added sulphites. Guidance on grouping sugars-based ingredients has also been updated, more specifically the "No grouping required" section.
April 2023 Industry Labelling Tool The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to reflect the changes to the Table of Reference Amounts for Foods published in November 2022.
April 2023 Industry Labelling Tool The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to reflect the changes to the daily values for sodium and potassium in the Table of Daily Values published in October 2022.
March 2023 Fresh fruits or vegetables The section Specific requirements for apples within the Fresh fruits or vegetables page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to clarify that the declaration of apple variety may be shown on a tag attached to the container of prepackaged apples.
February 2023 Alcohol The Alcoholic beverages page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to include guidance for use of the term "dealcoholized" and use of the term "non-alcoholic" or "alcohol-free".
February 2023 Nutrition Labelling Appendix 4 of the nutrition labelling compliance test has been updated to reflect methods of analysis currently used by the CFIA to verify accuracy of nutrition information.
December 2022 Organic The Organic page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to expand information on use the term "organic" in brand names, acceptable methods of declaring the name of a certification body on a product label, and language requirements.
November 2022 Permitted synonyms for food additives table Addition of a synonym for "Long-chain glycolipids from Dacryopinax spathularia MUCL 53181" to the Permitted synonyms for food additives table.
July 2022 Industry Labelling Tool The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to reflect amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) as part of Food Product Innovation.
May 2022 Method of production claims The guidance on "Novel foods" claim now includes an update related to Health Canada's new guidance for novel foods focused on plant breeding.
January 2022 Permitted synonyms for food additives table Addition of a synonym for "Modified vinegar" to the Permitted synonyms for food additives table.
January 2022 Vitamin D Marketing Authorization The fortification of food guidance has been revised to reflect the Marketing Authorization to permit increased vitamin D levels in cow's milk, goat's milk and margarine.
December 2021 Method of production claims The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to include guidance for use of an outcome-based approach for natural claims.
June 2021 Meat and poultry products The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to incorporate guidance concerning labelling requirements for meat and poultry products to which soy protein isolate or hydrolysed soy protein has been added.
December 2020 Sweeteners The labelling of steviol glycosides guidance has been revised to reflect updates in Health Canada's list of permitted sweeteners. Guidance outlining the permitted uses for monk fruit ingredients, including when they can be used in table-top sweeteners, is also now available in the Industry Labelling Tool.
May 2019 Fresh fruits or vegetables The Standard container sizes section of the Fresh fruits or vegetables page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to reflect the renewal of the 6.80 kg (15 lb) potato container test market.
January 2019 Industry Labelling Tool The Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to reflect the requirements of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). New regulatory references have been included and SFCR terminology adopted. This affects the majority of the chapters in the Industry Labelling Tool.
May 2018 Industry Labelling Tool The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to reflect the December 14, 2016 amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) related to nutrition labelling, list of ingredients and food colour requirements. In view of the 5 year transition period, where regulated parties may comply with either the former or the new labelling requirements, 2 versions of the Industry Labelling Tool are provided. The Former – Food labelling for industry, which will be available until December 14, 2021, reflects the former requirements, while the current Food labelling for industry contains guidance reflecting the new requirements.
February 2017 Retail foods The Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to include guidance on the labelling requirements for retail foods that are packaged and labelled in the retail establishment where they are sold.
November 2016 Advertising to the general public Guidance on Advertising to the general public has been added to the Advertising page of the Industry Labelling Tool with respect to Schedule A diseases, formulated liquid diets and gluten-free foods.
August 2016 Confectionary, chocolate and snack foods Additional guidance on the labelling of confectionary, chocolate and snack food products has been incorporated into the Industry Labelling Tool. The update improves organization of existing content, further consolidates their labelling requirements, and provides additional examples to expand on current guidance.
August 2016 Method of production claims The criteria for making natural, naturally raised, feed, antibiotic and hormone claims in labelling or advertising for meat, poultry and fish products have been updated and have been incorporated into the Method of production claims for meat, poultry and fish products section in the Method of production claims page of the Industry Labelling Tool.
July 2016 Composition and grades The Core labelling requirements section of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to incorporate guidance on food compositional requirements including new pages on standards of identity, food additives, fortification and grades.
July 2016 Nutrient function claims The Table of acceptable nutrient function claims has been updated to include accepted function claims for new nutrients (biotin, vitamin K, chromium, copper and manganese) as well as for certain existing nutrients (vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B12, folate, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc).
July 2016 "Made from raw or unpasteurized milk" labelling on cheese The Dairy page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to include information on Health Canada's voluntary guidance on improving the safety of soft and semi-soft cheese made from unpasteurized milk.
July 2016 Grain and bakery The Grain and bakery products page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to improve organization of existing content and to further consolidate guidance on labelling and composition requirements.
June 2016 Allergen infographic and fact sheet The Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to include a fact sheet with Allergen labelling tips for the food industry as well as an Infographic on food allergen labelling. This information will help to increase the understanding of allergen labelling and is located under the Industry Labelling Tool heading.
May 2016 Food products that require a label The Food products that require a label page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to include information on prepackaged products consisting of less than 7 identical products.
April 2016 Allergens, gluten and precautionary statements The Allergen-free, gluten-free and precautionary statements page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to expand on its currently existing guidance, including additional information on gluten-free and wheat-free claims, precautionary labelling, allergen-free claims in conjunction with precautionary labelling, and Health Canada's position on gluten-free and wheat-free claims for products containing canary seed.
April 2016 "Halal" claims The "Halal" method of production claims requirements have been updated to reflect the amendment to the Food and Drug Regulations.
February 2016 Fats and oils The Fats and oils page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to enhance serviceability and expand on its currently existing guidance.
December 2015 Human milk Labelling requirements for human milk have been incorporated into the Infant food and infant formula page of the Industry Labelling Tool.
November 2015 Water and ice The Prepackaged water and ice page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to enhance serviceability and expand on its currently existing guidance.
July 2015 Maple products The Maple products page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been updated to include new grades for maple syrup including new colour classes with taste descriptors, and to remove standard container size requirements.
June 2015 Gluten-free claims The Gluten-free oats and Gluten-free beer sections of the Industry Labelling Tool have been updated to reflect Health Canada's current position on the use of gluten-free claims for these foods.
May 2015 Alcohol The Alcohol page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to enhance serviceability by expanding on its currently existing guidance.
May 2015 Salt The Salt page of the Industry Labelling Tool has been revised to enhance serviceability by expanding on its currently existing guidance.
February 2015 Search engine A search engine has been created to assist user in locating food labelling and advertising information. The search engine can be accessed from the Labelling, standards of identity and grades and advertising webpage.
February 2015 Food additives The Permitted synonyms for food additives table has been revised to only include those food additives to which a permitted synonym or abbreviation currently exists.
February 2015 Date markings and storage instructions Information on the storage instruction requirements for low-acid foods that are hermetically sealed and "Freeze by" dates has been added to the Date marking and storage instructions webpage.
January 2015 "Natural source" claims for steviol glycosides Information on the use of "Natural source" claims for steviol glycosides has been added to the Labelling of steviol glycosides webpage.
August 2014 Labelling of mechanically tenderized beef (MTB) Mandatory labelling of all mechanically tenderized beef products sold in Canada.
August 2014 Principal display surface The Principal display surface definition has been updated to reflect amendments to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations.
July 2014 Previously frozen The previously frozen requirements for meat and poultry products and fish and fish products have been clarified.
July 2014 Saccharin sweetener Saccharin is now permitted for use as a sweetener in various unstandardized foods as per Health Canada's List of permitted sweeteners.
June 2014 Halal: method of production Halal method of production claims on food labels, packaging or advertising material must now include the name of the certifying body as per amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations.
June 2014 Food labelling for consumers The Food labelling for consumers webpage assists consumers in learning how to properly read a food label and identify information on certain parts of the label.
March 2014 Industry Labelling Tool The Industry Labelling Tool improves industry's access to food labelling information and includes a checklist to help guide users through the core requirements. The information in this tool serves as a single point of reference for stakeholders and inspection staff and replaces resources such as the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising and Labelling and Advertising Decisions webpages.
October 2013 Labelling of steviol glycosides To provide a list of acceptable synonyms for steviol glycosides that may appear in the list of ingredients.
October 2013 Food additive and permitted synonyms table The Food Additive and Permitted Synonyms Table has been updated to reflect new food additives permitted in Health Canada's lists of permitted food additives.
June 2013 Food additive and permitted synonyms table To provide a list of food additive names and their synonyms that are acceptable common names for use in the ingredients lists of foods sold in Canada.
February 2013 Labelling and advertising of dietary fibre-containing food products To provide information on the Labelling and advertising of dietary fibre-containing food products based on Health Canada's new definition and general caloric value of 2 kcal (8 kJ/g) of dietary fibre.
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