Food > Labelling > Nutrition Labelling > Toolkit 

Section A - Introduction

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Table of Contents | Section A | Section B | Section C | Section D | Section E |
Section F | Section G | Section H | Section I | Section J | Section K

1. Purpose of the Nutrition Labelling Toolkit

This Nutrition Labelling Toolkit is intended to be a practical aid to the interpretation of the nutrition labelling provisions of the Food and Drug Regulations. While the Toolkit was originally designed for inspectors of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), you may find this guide useful if you are involved in food production or labelling or simply have an interest in this field. The Toolkit, however, does not address nutrient content claims or health claims.

The Toolkit contains useful information and inspection tools all in one handy package. It includes information about all aspects of nutrition labelling, and should answer key questions:

• Which products require a Nutrition Facts table and which are exempt?
• What are the requirements of the Nutrition Facts table? What is acceptable and what is not?
• When do the Regulations come into force?
• What are the technical and graphic requirements of Nutrition Facts tables?

The Toolkit addresses such essential questions as how to calculate the Available Display Surface on different types of food packaging. This calculation is vital to choosing the proper version (size) of the Nutrition Facts table.

The Toolkit also contains the CFIA’s Nutrition Labelling Evaluation Standard. This document will be used by the CFIA to assess compliance with the Food and Drug Regulations. This stand alone document has been included in the Toolkit for your convenience. The document is divided into 2 parts: Part 1: Evaluation Standard for the Manufacturing Process; and Part 2: Evaluation Standard for the Label. Part 1 focuses on the means by which a manufacturer determines nutrient values and their validity. It also evaluates a manufacturer’s ability to identify and control all facets of the manufacturing process to produce products with a constant nutrient profile: from planning and specification setting to processing and delivery. Part 2 focuses on the technical aspects of the Nutrition Facts table. Part 2 is a product inspection.

The final chapter of the Toolkit, "Tools and Templates", is a convenient pull-out section (in the .pdf version) that contains tables and checklists. It concisely presents rounding rules, summarizes requirements for determining Available Display Surface, lists reference standards and alternative expressions, reviews key triggers for additional information, and provides an internet address to access Health Canada's Compendium of Templates for Nutrition Facts Tables.

2. References and Abbreviations

References to the Food and Drug Regulations

The requirements for nutrition labelling and, hence, Nutrition Facts tables, are set out in the Food and Drug Regulations. This Toolkit routinely makes reference to a specific regulation or regulations. These references allow the reader to locate specific requirements within the Food and Drug Regulations. The Food and Drug Regulations are numbered and are identified in one of the following manners: Section B.01.401, B.01.401, or [B.01.401].

In addition, this document also references Schedules L and M of the Food and Drug Regulations. Schedule L is the listing of all the various Nutrition Facts table formats (Standard, Simplified, Dual – Foods Requiring Preparation, Aggregate – Different Amounts of Food, etc.) and the versions (different sizes) of each format. Schedule L graphically presents one or more examples of each format, identifies their key features, and sets out the order of presentation of information, as well as  required graphic standards such as the use of bold type, indents, footnotes, print size, lines (rules) and spacing, etc. for each version of the format. In the current Departmental Consolidation of the Food and Drug Regulations, Schedule L is located in Part B (yellow pages) of the Regulations, immediately following Division 1.

Within Schedule L, all the formats of the Nutrition Facts table are numbered in the following manner: "Figure X.Y". The first number, "X", refers to the number of the format, while the second number, "Y", refers to the version of the format. Each format has 2 to 7 versions which get progressively smaller as the version number increases. Consequently, "Figure 1.1" refers to format 1 (the standard format), first version. Figure 1.1 is the largest version of the standard format while Figure 1.6 is the smallest.

Schedule M set outs reference amounts for different classes of foods. Reference amounts are used in setting and evaluating nutrient content claims. In the current Departmental Consolidation of the Food and Drug Regulations, Schedule M is located at the end of Part D (pink pages) of the Regulations, immediately following Schedule K.

Abbreviations for specific legislation

Other Abbreviations

3. Classes of Foods for the Purposes of Nutrition Labelling

While the Regulations require that most prepackaged products carry a Nutrition Facts table, the requirements are different for different classes of foods. For the purposes of nutrition labelling there are three classes of foods:

• prepackaged foods for the consumer (including foods for children under two years of age and foods that will be repackaged for retail);
• prepackaged foods for use in manufacturing other foods; and
• multiple-serving, ready-to-eat prepackaged products served in a commercial or industrial enterprise or institution.

This Toolkit focuses on foods for the consumer. It provides information about the requirements and outlines the differences that exist for food for children under two years of age. It also touches on the other classes of food.

Table of Contents | Section A | Section B | Section C | Section D | Section E |
Section F | Section G | Section H | Section I | Section J | Section K