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	Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising
-	Section V: Nutrition Labelling
-	Section VI: Nutrient Content Claims
-	Section VII: Health-Related Claims

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising

Section VI: Nutrient Content Claims
Section 6.2.6

6.2.6 Vitamins and Mineral Nutrients

6.2.6.1 How to Declare Vitamins and Mineral Nutrients

Declarations of vitamins and mineral nutrients are based on the combined total of both the naturally occurring and added nutrient content of a food. These declarations follow sodium and potassium in the nutrition labelling format (see Section 5.4 for details).

Each of the vitamin and mineral nutrients, for which a Recommended Daily Intake* has been established, is expressed as a percentage of the Recommended Daily Intake, rounded to the nearest whole number. If a vitamin or mineral nutrient is present in a food in an amount less than 5 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake, this percentage may be declared, but with no claims related to it. For nutrients present in quantities greater than 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake, the actual percentage present is also to be declared (e.g., 117%).

No mention may be made of a vitamin or mineral nutrient with no established Recommended Daily Intake, except for sodium and potassium, and the mandatory declarations of fluoride in water in parts per million (ppm), (B.12.002, B.12.008), and each of the following in mg/serving: copper when added to simulated meat and poultry (D.03.002); chloride when added to a meal replacement or nutritional supplement (D.03.002); biotin, copper, manganese, selenium, chromium and molybdenum when present in a meal replacement or nutritional supplement (B.24.202).

(* Note: The term "Recommended Daily Intake", although often abbreviated to RDI in conversation, must be written in full on labels and advertisements.)

6.2.6.2 Nomenclature, Order of Listing, and Highlighting

The following nomenclature and order of listing must be used for vitamins and mineral nutrients (D.01.002, D.02.001). Highlighting of specific nutrients to give them greater prominence is not permitted (B.01.310).

PERCENTAGE OF RECOMMENDED DAILY INTAKE* POURCENTAGE DE L'APPORT QUOTIDIEN RECOMMANDÉ
Vitamin A/Vitamine A	x %
Vitamin D/Vitamine D	x %
Vitamin E/Vitamine E	x %
Vitamin C/Vitamine C	x %
Thiamine or/ou Vitamin B1/Vitamine B1	x %
Riboflavin/Riboflavine or/ou Vitamin B2/Vitamine B2	x %
Niacin/Niacine	x %
Vitamin B6/Vitamine B6	x %
Folacin/Folacine	x %
Vitamin B12/Vitamine B12	x %
Pantothenic acid/Acide pantothénique or/ou Pantothenate/Pantothénate	x %
Calcium	x %
Phosphorus/Phosphore	x %
Magnesium/Magnésium	x %
Iron/Fer	x %
Zinc	x %
Iodine/Iode	x %

(* Note: The term "Recommended Daily Intake", although often abbreviated to RDI in conversation, must be written in full on labels and advertisements.)

6.2.6.3 Recommended Daily Intakes of Vitamins and Mineral Nutrients

The following table of Recommended Daily Intakes for vitamins and mineral nutrients is a reference standard developed for use in the nutrition labelling of foods in Canada. It is based on the 1983 Recommended Nutrient Intakes for Canadians*, and represents the highest recommended intake of each nutrient for each age/sex group, omitting supplemental needs for pregnancy and lactation.

(* Recommended Nutrient Intakes for Canadians, Health and Welfare Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 1983.)

Note: Recommended Daily Intakes are given for two different age groups. When using the following table be sure to use the appropriate column.

RECOMMENDED DAILY INTAKE (D.01.013, D.02.006)
Nutrient	Units	Persons 2 years of age or older	Infants and children less than 2 years old

vitamin A vitamin D vitamin E vitamin C thiamine, vitamin B1 riboflavin, vitamin B2 niacin vitamin B6 folacin vitamin B12 pantothenic acid or pantothenate calcium phosphorus magnesium iron zinc iodine	RE mcg mg mg mg mg NE mg mcg mcg mg mg mg mg mg mg mcg	1000 5 10 60 1.3 1.6 23 1.8 220 2 7 1100 1100 250 14 9 160	400 10 3 20 0.45 0.55 8 0.7 65 0.3 2 500 500 55 7 4 55

Where: RE = retinol equivalents, mcg = µg = micrograms, mg = milligrams, and NE = niacin equivalents

6.2.6.3.1 Minimum Vitamin and Mineral Nutrients for Making Claims on Foods for Persons 2 Years of Age and Over

The following chart may be used to determine what claims can be made for nutrients on foods for persons two years of age or older.

CLAIMS FOR PERSONS 2 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER
	"a source of" "contains" (greater than or equal to 5% RDI)	"a good source of" "high in" (greater than or equal to 15% RDI except for vitamin C*)	"excellent source" "very high in" (greater than or equal to 25% RDI except for vitamin C**)

VITAMINS
vitamin A vitamin D vitamin E vitamin C thiamine (vitamin B1) riboflavin (vitamin B2) niacin vitamin B6 folacin vitamin B12 pantothenic acid or pantothenate	50 RE .25 mcg 0.5 mg 3.0 mg .07 mg .08 mg 1.15 NE .09 mg 11 mcg 0.1 mcg .35 mg	150 RE .75 mcg 1.5 mg 18 mg .20 mg .24 mg 3.45 NE .27 mg 33 mcg 0.3 mcg 1.05 mg	250 RE 1.25 mcg 2.5 mg 30 mg .33 mg 0.4 mg 5.75 NE .45 mg 55 mcg 0.5 mcg 1.75 mg
MINERAL NUTRIENTS
calcium phosphorus magnesium iron zinc iodine	55 mg 55 mg 12.5 mg 0.7 mg .45 mg 8.0 mcg	165 mg 165 mg 37.5 mg 2.1 mg 1.35 mg 24 mcg	275 mg 275 mg 62.5 mg 3.5 mg 2.25 mg 40 mcg

* To claim that a food is a "good source" or an "high in" of vitamin C, it must provide greater than or equal to 30% RDI.

** To claim that a food is a "very high" or an "excellent source" of vitamin C, it must provide greater than or equal to 50% RDI.

6.2.6.3.2 Minimum Vitamin and Mineral Nutrients for Making Claims on Foods for Infants and Children Under Two Years

The following chart may be used to determine what claims may be made for nutrients on foods for children less than 2 years of age.

CLAIMS FOR INFANTS AND CHILDREN LESS THAN 2 YEARS OF AGE
	"a source of" "contains" (greater than or equal to 5% RDI)	"a good source of" "high in" (greater than or equal to 15% RDI except for vitamin C*)	"excellent source" "very high in" (greater than or equal to 25% RDI except for vitamin C**)

VITAMINS
vitamin A vitamin D vitamin E vitamin C thiamine (vitamin B1) riboflavin (vitamin B2) niacin vitamin B6 folacin vitamin B12 pantothenic acid or pantothenate	20 RE 0.5 mcg .15 mg 1.0 mg .02 mg .03 mg 0.4 NE .04 mg 3.3 mcg .02 mcg 0.1 mg	60 RE 1.5 mcg .45 mg 6.0 mg .08 mg .07 mg 1.2 NE .11 mg 9.8 mcg .05 mcg 0.3 mg	100 RE 2.5 mcg .75 mg 10.0 mg .11 mg 0.14 mg 2.0 NE .18 mg 16.3 mcg .08 mcg .5 mg
MINERAL NUTRIENTS
calcium phosphorus magnesium iron zinc iodine	25 mg 25 mg 2.8 mg .35 mg 0.2 mg 2.8 mcg	75 mg 75 mg 8.3 mg 1.1 mg 0.6 mg 8.3 mcg	125 mg 125 mg 13.8 mg 1.8 mg 1.0 mg 13.8 mcg

* To claim that a food is a "good source" or an "high in" of vitamin C, it must provide greater than or equal to 30% RDI.

** To claim that a food is a "very high" or an "excellent source" of vitamin C, it must provide greater than or equal to 50% RDI.

6.2.6.4 Summary Table of Vitamin and Mineral Nutrient Claims

The following table provides a summary of the Regulations and guidelines pertaining to vitamin and mineral nutrient claims (see also Sections 6.1, 6.3 and 6.4).

Claim	Compositional Requirements	*Information Required on Label and Advertisement:**
a. any vitamin or mineral nutrient claim; "contains" "source of" "contains 8 essential nutrients"	Claims may be made only for vitamins or mineral nutrients for which RDI's have been established; [D.01.004(1)(a)], [D.02.002(1)(a)] and which provide greater than or equal to 5% of RDI. [D.01.004(1)(b)], [D.02.002(1)(b)]	- claimed vitamin(s) as % of RDI per serving; [D.01.004(1)(c)] and - claimed mineral nutrient(s) as % RDI per serving. [D.02.002(1)(c)]
b. "good source of" "high in"	- greater than or equal to 15% RDI, except greater than or equal to 30% RDI for vitamin C.	Same as above. [D.01.004(1)(c)] [D.02.002(1)(c)]
c. "excellent source of" "very high in" "rich in" most other qualifying terms	- greater than or equal to 25% RDI, except greater than or equal to 50% RDI for vitamin C.	Same as above. [D.01.004(1)(c)] [D.02.002(1)(c)]
d. "added vitamins" "fortified/enriched with" "vitaminized with"	Permitted additions of vitamins and mineral nutrients are listed in D.03.002 (see Annex 2). Minimum and maximum amounts to be added are regulated. (D.01.009, D.01.010, D.01.011, D.02.009)	- claimed mineral nutrient(s) as % of RDI per serving; [D.02.002(1)(c)] - claimed vitamin(s) as a % of RDI per serving; [D.01.004(1)(c)] or mg/serving if no RDI exists. [D.01.005(b)], [D.02.003(b)]
e. "(%, fraction or quantity) more (named vitamin or mineral nutrient) than (naming reference food)" "higher in (named vitamin and/or mineral nutrients) than..."	Compared to the reference food it must be: - greater than or equal to 25% increased in the claimed vitamin or mineral nutrient; and - a have a significant absolute difference in the vitamin or mineral nutrient content of greater than or equal to 10% of the Recommended Daily Intake of the vitamin or mineral nutrient.	Same as above: [D.01.004(1)(c)], [D.02.002(1)(c)] and - (the %, fraction or number) more vitamin or mineral nutrient than (naming the reference food) to be either: a) part of or grouped with the most prominent claim that the food is higher in a vitamin or mineral nutrients; or i) on the principal display panel when the claim is made on the label; and ii) in the advertisement when the claim is made in the advertisement.

* When claims are made on a label, unless otherwise specified, this information must appear on the label. For advertising claims, the required information must appear either in the advertisement or on the label.

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Important Notices

Section VI: Nutrient Content Claims Section 6.2.6