Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SOR/2018-108)

SUBDIVISION CLabel Required

Marginal note:Prepackaged food

217 A prepackaged food must have a label that meets the requirements of these Regulations applied or attached to it in the manner set out in these Regulations.

SUBDIVISION DInformation

Prepackaged Foods

Marginal note:Prepackaged foods — label

• 218 (1) Unless otherwise provided by this Part, a label that is applied or attached to a prepackaged food must bear

  • (a) the common name of the food, shown on the principal display panel;

  • (b) the name and principal place of business of the person by or for whom the food was manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, packaged or labelled, on any part of the label other than any part that is applied or attached to the bottom of the container of the food; and

  • (c) any other information that is required to be shown on the label of the prepackaged food in accordance with the requirements of the Food and Drug Regulations for any prepackaged product as defined in subsection B.01.001(1) of those Regulations.

• Marginal note:Exception — name and principal place of business

  (2) The information referred to in paragraph (1)(b) may be shown on any part of the label that is applied or attached to the bottom of the container if that information is also shown on a part of the label that is not applied or attached to the bottom of the container.

Marginal note:Exception — common name

• 219 (1) The following foods are not required to be labelled with the common name:

  • (a) prepackaged fresh fruits or vegetables that are packaged in such a manner that the fresh fruits or vegetables are visible and identifiable in the container; and

  • (b) consumer prepackaged fresh apples that are packaged in such a manner that the name of their variety is shown on any part of the label, except if that name is shown on any part that is applied to the bottom of the container.

• Marginal note:Definition of apple

  (2) In paragraph (1)(b), apple means a fresh apple for which a grade is prescribed by these Regulations.

Marginal note:Exception — name and principal place of business

220 Consumer prepackaged fresh fruits or vegetables that are packaged at retail in such a manner that the fresh fruits or vegetables are visible and identifiable in the container are not required to be labelled with the name and principal place of business referred to in paragraph 218(1)(b).

Consumer Prepackaged Foods

Marginal note:Consumer prepackaged food — declaration of net quantity

221 A label that is applied or attached to a consumer prepackaged food must bear on the principal display panel a declaration of net quantity of the food.

Marginal note:Place of manufacture — label or container

222 If the label that is applied or attached to a consumer prepackaged food bears any reference, direct or indirect, to the place of manufacture of the label or container, the reference to that place must be accompanied by an additional statement that indicates that the reference relates only to the place of manufacture of the label or container.

Marginal note:Name of importer

• 223 (1) If a consumer prepackaged food was wholly manufactured, processed or produced in a foreign state and the name and principal place of business of the person in Canada for whom it was manufactured, processed or produced or the person by whom it was stored, packaged or labelled in Canada is shown on its label, that information must be preceded by the expressions “Imported by” and “importé par” or “Imported for” and “importé pour”, as the case may be, unless the geographic origin of the consumer prepackaged food is shown on the label in accordance with subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Food packaged in Canada

  (2) If a food that was wholly manufactured, processed, produced in a foreign state is packaged in Canada, other than at retail, and the name and principal place of business of the person in Canada for whom the food was manufactured, processed, produced or packaged is shown on the label that is applied or attached to the resulting consumer prepackaged food, that information must be preceded by the expressions “Imported by” and “importé par” or “Imported for” and “importé pour”, as the case may be, unless the geographic origin of the food is shown on the label in accordance with subsection (3).

• Marginal note:Geographic origin

  (3) The geographic origin of a food must, subject to the requirements of any other federal or provincial law, be shown

  • (a) in close proximity to the name and principal place of business of the person by or for whom the food was manufactured, processed or produced; and

  • (b) in characters of at least the same height as those in which the information referred to in paragraph (a) is shown.

Marginal note:Flavouring ingredient

• 224 (1) If a flavouring ingredient is added to a consumer prepackaged food, the label that is applied or attached to the consumer prepackaged food must bear a statement that indicates that the flavouring ingredient is imitation, artificial or simulated if

  • (a) the ingredient is not derived from a natural substance such as meat, fish, poultry, fruits, vegetables, edible yeast, herbs, spices, bark, buds, roots, leaves or other plant material; and

  • (b) the label bears a pictorial representation that suggests the natural food flavour that corresponds to the added flavouring ingredient.

• Marginal note:Statement

  (2) The statement must be shown

  • (a) on or in close proximity to the pictorial representation, if the representation is shown on the principal display panel;

  • (b) on the principal display panel, in close proximity to the common name, if the pictorial representation is shown on a part of the label other than the principal display panel; or

  • (c) on or in close proximity to the portion of the pictorial representation shown on the principal display panel, if the representation is shown on the principal display panel and on another part of the label.

SUBDIVISION ERequirement to Apply or Attach Label

Marginal note:Prepackaged food

225 The label of a prepackaged food must be applied or attached in such a manner that the label is still applied or attached at the time it is sold.

Marginal note:Consumer prepackaged food — container

226 Subject to section 228, the label of a consumer prepackaged food that is for sale must be applied or attached to the container in accordance with section 227.

Marginal note:Principal display surface

• 227 (1) All or part of the label of a consumer prepackaged food must be applied to the principal display surface.

• Marginal note:Ornamental container

  (2) Despite subsection (1), in the case of a consumer prepackaged food whose container is an ornamental container, the label may be applied to the bottom of the container or attached to the container.

Marginal note:Display card

228 In the case of a consumer prepackaged food whose container is mounted on a display card, the label may be applied to the surface of the display card that is displayed or visible under customary conditions of sale or use.

SUBDIVISION FType Size — Specific Information

Marginal note:Consumer prepackaged food

• 229 (1) In the case of the label of a consumer prepackaged food, the following must be shown in characters of at least the minimum character height that is set out in column 2 of Schedule 6 for the area of a principal display surface that is set out in column 1:

  • (a) the numerical quantity in the declaration of net quantity; and

  • (b) the statement referred to in section 224 that indicates that a flavouring ingredient is imitation, artificial or simulated.

• Marginal note:Container mounted on display card — specific case

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), in the case of a container that is mounted on a display card, the reference to “Area of Principal Display Surface” in Schedule 6 must be read as “Total Area of the Surface of the Display Card that is Displayed or Visible under Customary Conditions of Sale or Use”, if the information is shown on a label that is applied to all or part of that surface.

• Marginal note:Consumer prepackaged wine — specific case

  (3) Despite paragraph (1)(a), in the case of consumer prepackaged wine, the numerical quantity in the declaration of net quantity may, if the net quantity is 750 mL, the container is no taller than 360 mm and the area of the principal display surface is greater than 258 cm², be shown in characters of a height less than the minimum character height that is set out in column 2 of Schedule 6, but must be shown in characters that are at least 3.3 mm in height.

SUBDIVISION GManner of Showing Declaration of Net Quantity

Legibility

Marginal note:Consumer prepackaged food

230 The declaration of net quantity that is shown on the label of a consumer prepackaged food must

• (a) be in distinct contrast to any other information or pictorial representation on the label; and

• (b) show the numerical quantity in boldface type.

Declaration by Volume, Weight or Numerical Count

Marginal note:General requirements

231 The declaration of net quantity of a consumer prepackaged food must be shown

• (a) in the case of a consumer prepackaged food that is listed in the document entitled Units of Measurement for the Net Quantity Declaration of Certain Foods, prepared by the Agency and published on its website, as amended from time to time, by volume, weight or numerical count in accordance with that document; or

• (b) in the case of a consumer prepackaged food that is not listed in the document referred to in paragraph (a),

  • (i) if the food is liquid, gas or viscous, by food volume, or, if the food is solid, by weight, or

  • (ii) if the established trade practice in respect of the food is to show its net quantity in a manner that is different than what is required by subparagraph (i), in accordance with that established trade practice.

Metric Units

Marginal note:Permitted units of measurement

232 The declaration of net quantity of a consumer prepackaged food must be shown in metric units, unless otherwise provided by these Regulations.

Marginal note:Millilitres, litres, grams and kilograms

• 233 (1) The metric units that must be shown in a declaration of net quantity of a consumer prepackaged food must be in

  • (a) millilitres, if the net volume of the food is less than 1 000 mL;

  • (b) litres, if the net volume of the food is 1 000 mL or more;

  • (c) grams, if the net weight of the food is less than 1 000 g; and

  • (d) kilograms, if the net weight of the food is 1 000 g or more.

• Marginal note:Half-litre or half-kilogram

  (2) Despite paragraphs (1)(a) and (c), 500 mL may be shown as 0.5 L and 500 g may be shown as 0.5 kg.

• Marginal note:Decimal fraction

  (3) In the case referred to in paragraph (1)(c), the net weight may be shown as a decimal fraction of a kilogram if the food is packaged from bulk at retail or is a catch-weight food that is sold by a retailer.

Marginal note:Number of digits

• 234 (1) If the declaration of net quantity of a consumer prepackaged food is shown in metric units, it must be shown in the decimal system to three figures.

• Marginal note:Net quantity below 100 g or mL

  (2) Despite subsection (1), if the net quantity is below 100 g or 100 mL, it may be shown to two figures.

• Marginal note:Zero as final decimal

  (3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), any final zero appearing to the right of the decimal point is not required to be shown.

Marginal note:Quantity less than one

235 If the declaration of net quantity of a consumer prepackaged food is shown in metric units and the quantity is less than one metric unit, the quantity must be shown

• (a) in words; or

• (b) in the decimal system, with a zero preceding the decimal point.