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Canadian Food Inspection Agency Section VI: Nutrient Content Claims
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Sections 6.1 to 6.1.9 | Sections 6.1.10 to 6.1.11.3 | Section 6.2.1
| Section 6.2.2 | Section 6.2.3 Section 6.2.4 | Section 6.2.5 | Section 6.2.6 | Section 6.3 | Section 6.4 | Annexes 1 - 3 |
Carbohydrate includes: sugars such as monosaccharides (e.g., glucose), disaccharides (e.g., sucrose), etc.; sugar alcohols (isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, maltitol syrup, mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol); polydextrose; starch; and dietary fibre. All are expressed in grams per serving of stated size and are rounded to the nearest whole number for quantities of 10 g or more, and to the nearest tenth of a gram for quantities less than 10 g. If no carbohydrate is present, its absence should be indicated by a zero. The declaration of one carbohydrate component does not trigger the declaration of any of the others.
The label of a food containing one or more of the sugar alcohols listed above, or polydextrose, must carry a statement of the specific name and amount of each, grouped together, in g/serving of stated size (B.01.018). The amount of each may be declared in the ingredient list, in a list in immediate proximity to the ingredient list, or in the nutrition panel as indicated below.
Aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame-potassium are sweeteners which must be declared on the principal display panel (see B.01.014 and B.01.015 for the labelling of aspartame; B.01.016 and B.01.017 for sucralose; and B.01.019 and B.01.020 for acesulfame-potassium). In the nutrition labelling format sucralose, aspartame,and acesulfame-potassium are declared in milligrams. No objection would be made, however, to declaring aspartame after protein.
NUTRITION INFORMATION NUTRITIONNELLE |
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per x g or ml serving (x cups, items, etc.) par portion de x g ou ml (x tasses, unités, etc.) |
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Energy/Énergie | x Cal x kJ |
Protein/Protéines | x g |
Fat/Matières grasses | x g |
Carbohydrate/Glucides | x g |
sugars/sucres | x g |
lactitol | x g |
sorbitol, etc. | x g |
polydextrose | x g |
dietary fibre/fibres alimentaires | x g |
Sucralose | x mg |
Acesulfame-potassium/Acésulfame-potassium | x mg |
Aspartame | x mg |
The term "no sugar added", "unsweetened" or "not sweetened" requires a declaration on the label of the total quantity of sugars (all mono and disaccharides) in the food in grams per serving of stated size. If the claim is made in an advertisement, the sugars declaration may be on the label or in the advertisement (B.01.304, FDR). The terms may be used on foods which do not contain any added sugars (sugar, honey, molasses, fructose, glucose or other mono and disaccharides), or any ingredient or component which contributes a significant amount of sugars to the food.
Example: "unsweetened" juices.
Exceptions:
1. The following are conditions under which the claim "no sugar added" can be used, even if sugars other than sucrose are present:
If sugar is to be added to a food by consumers before it is consumed, e.g., fruit drink mixes. When the claim "no sugar added" is made, a statement indicating that sugar should be added during the preparation of the foods should accompany the claim to inform consumers that the product is not sweet. A statement such as "sweeten to your own taste" would meet this requirement.
If the statement "no sugar added" is used to describe a food sweetened with some other product such as honey, molasses or juice, and if the expression is intended to indicate the non-addition of sucrose rather than the non-addition of other sugars, i.e., monosaccharides or other disaccharides. There would be no deception if this expression is accompanied, in equal prominence, by an indication of the replacement sweetener, e.g., "contains no added sugar (sucrose), sweetened with honey".
2. Unsweetened and semi-sweet chocolate are products used mainly for further processing and not for direct consumption by the consumer. The use of the common names "unsweetened chocolate" and "semi-sweet chocolate" has a long history and such use does not require a declaration of the sugars content on the label or in an advertisement.
The term "less sweet" or "lightly sweetened" requires a declaration of the total quantity of sugars in the food in grams per serving. They are comparative claims, acceptable on foods which have a minimum reduction in sugars content of 25 percent and a decrease of 5 g in sugars per serving, with no increase in energy compared to a similar reference food. A statement indicating the reference food and the amount of reduction should appear, grouped with the most prominent claim.
Example:"lightly sweetened" yogurt.
Where the term "sweet" or "sweetened" is used, a declaration of the sugars content on the label or in an advertisement is not required.
Examples: Examples of "sweet" and "sweetened" claims not requiring sugars declaration include "sweetened apple juice", "sweetened condensed milk" and "sweet chocolate".
A claim referring specifically to a "sweet taste", such as "does not taste sweet", is considered to be a taste claim and would not trigger a sugars declaration.
The following table provides a summary of the Regulations and guidelines pertaining to carbohydrate claims (see also Sections 6.1, 6.3 and 6.4).
Claim |
Compositional Requirements |
Information Required on Label and Advertisement*: |
a. "carbohydrate-reduced" | Only for foods for special dietary use, and must have: - prior to carbohydrate reduction, greater than or equal to25% of the Calories from its carbohydrate content; and when ready to serve provides: and |
The label must state: -"carbohydrate-reduced" in close proximity to and of the same type size as common name; (B.24.009) - core list (energy - in Cal and kJ/serving; protein, fat, carbohydrate - in g/serving). The advertisement AND the label must state: |
b. "low carbohydrate" "low in carbohydrate" |
- less than or equal to 10% available carbohydrate; and |
- g carbohydrate/serving. (B.01.300) |
c. "source of'" or "contains complex carbohydrate" |
- greater than or equal to 10 g starch/serving. | - g starch/serving; and |
d. "low-sugar" "low in sugar" "light in sugar" "lite in sugar" |
- less than or equal to 2 g sugars/serving; and |
- g sugars/serving. (B.01.300) |
e. "(%, fraction or quantity) less sugar than
(naming reference food)" "reduced in sugar" "lower in sugar than..." "lightly sweetened" |
Compared to the reference food it must have: - greater than or equal to 25% less sugars; and and |
- g sugars/serving; (B.01.300) and or |
f. "sugar-free" "sugarless" "no sugar" "sweet without sugar" |
Only for foods for special dietary use and is: - a carbohydrate-reduced food that, when ready to serve, contains: - less than or equal to 0.25% available carbohydrate; and |
The label must state: - "sugar-free" or "sugarless" on the principal display panel in close proximity to and in the same type size as the common name; (B.24.010) - core list (energy - in Cal and kJ/serving; protein, fat, carbohydrate - in g/serving). The advertisement AND the label must state: |
g. "light" "lite" "light (naming the food or brand)" "lite (naming the food or brand)" |
In general, these claims cannot be used without further qualification. The
food must meet the compositional requirements of: - a carbohydrate-reduced food as described in a); or or or |
Must meet the corresponding label and/or advertisement requirements of a),
d), e), or f) EXCEPT in an advertisement these claims may be used without
further qualification provided that: - all required information is on the label; and |
h. "no sugar added" "unsweetened" |
- means no sucrose (B.18.001), or other sugars, e.g., honey, molasses, fruit juice, fructose, glucose or other monosaccharides or disaccharides are added to the food and no ingredient or component contributes a significant amount of sugars to the food. | - sugars (i.e., all mono and disaccharides) in g/serving. (B.01.300) |
i. "no added sugar, sweetened with (naming the sweetening
agent(s))" "sweetened with..." |
- contains no added sucrose (B.18.001) but may contain other sweetening agents such as honey, molasses, fruit juice, fructose, glucose or other monosaccharides or disaccharides, or sugar alcohols. | - sugars (i.e., all mono and disaccharides) and naming the sugar alcohols
if used in g/serving; (B.01.018, B.01.300) and *For requirements specific to sweeteners, see Section 8.5 |
j. "sweetened" "sweet" "with sugar" "heavy syrup" |
--- | Exempt from a sugars declaration. |
* 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.
Dietary fibre is defined* as the endogenous components of plant material in the diet which are resistant to digestion by enzymes produced by humans. They are predominantly non-starch polysaccharides and lignin. The composition varies with the origin of the fibre and includes soluble and insoluble substances.
Fruits, nuts, legumes and cereals, when traditionally processed or prepared, are considered to be natural sources of dietary fibre. Their fibre content may be included in the declaration of total dietary fibre content.
Novel fibre or novel source is defined* as a food that has been manufactured to be a source of dietary fibre, and:
(* These definitions were recommended by the Expert Advisory Committee on Dietary Fibre, 1985, reporting to Health Canada.)
Dietary fibre is associated with beneficial health effects, but these cannot be predicted from chemical analysis. It must be demonstrated that a novel fibre is safe and that it functions physiologically as dietary fibre for it to be considered a source of dietary fibre.
The safety of novel fibre sources must be established before they may be used as ingredients in foods.
The physiological efficacy of novel fibre sources as dietary fibre must be established before they may be claimed to be sources of dietary fibre in foods.
Once a novel fibre source has been successfully tested for efficacy, it may be considered an acceptable dietary fibre source. Otherwise, it is considered an unproven novel fibre and, if safe, may be used in foods but cannot be claimed to be a source of dietary fibre.
If a novel fibre source has been reviewed by Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada and found acceptable, either as an ingredient only (safety demonstrated) or as a dietary fibre source (safety and efficacy demonstrated), the manufacturer will receive a "letter of no objection" indicating any restriction on its use. These letters of no objection are specific to the brand of the fibre source that was reviewed, unless otherwise specified.
Manufacturers considering the use of novel fibre sources and wishing further guidance in this regard are advised to contact the Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada.
In the case of ingredients manufactured to be sources of dietary fibre, such as novel fibre sources, the common name of the fibre ingredient in the list of ingredients should include:
The term "fibre" may be included as part of the common name, if appropriate (e.g., the product is 90 percent fibre).
Descriptive claims may be made for foods which are considered to be sources of dietary fibre, either fibre-containing foods or novel fibre sources having been demonstrated to be sources of dietary fibre. The terms "good" and "excellent", because they imply a judgment regarding the nature and value of the fibre in addition to quantity, should not be used. If a food contains an unproven novel fibre source, the amount of fibre contributed by this ingredient should not be included in the declaration of the dietary fibre content, and no fibre claims may be made for it.
Where dietary fibre claims are made, the dietary fibre content of a food must be declared in grams per serving of stated sizes (for methods of analysis, see Section 6.4.4.3).
a) Descriptive Claims
No claim should be made regarding the fibre content of a food unless the food contains at least 2 g of dietary fibre per serving.
Foods (except meal replacements and formulated liquid diets) containing a minimum of 2 g of dietary fibre per serving may be described as a "source" of dietary fibre or as containing "moderate" amounts of dietary fibre.
Foods (except for meal replacements and formulated liquid diets) containing a minimum of 4 g of dietary fibre per serving may be described as containing "high" amounts of dietary fibre.
Foods (except for meal replacements and formulated liquid diets) containing at least 6 g of dietary fibre per serving may be described as containing "very high" amounts of dietary fibre.
b) Comparative Claims
Quantitative comparisons of the fibre content of foods of proven fibre value are considered to be misleading unless the fibres are:
c) Fibre in Meal Replacements and Formulated Liquid Diets
Statement or claims regarding dietary fibre content of meal replacements, including "fibre" as part of the common name, may be made only if human studies have shown that the fibre source has the beneficial effects attributable to the dietary fibre ingredient when consumed in the specific meal replacement. No claims for "moderate", "high" or "very high" source of dietary fibre may be made for any meal replacement (see Policy Respecting Dietary Fibre in Meal Replacements, Health Protection Branch, Health Canada, 1993).
Proposals for implied nutrient content claims are contained in the consultation documents on Nutrient Content Claims, January 1996, available from Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
A statement or claim relating to the bran content of a food other than the listing of "bran" in the list of ingredients is considered to be a claim that the food is a source of dietary fibre (see Section 7.5.3). A food described as containing "bran" should contain at least 2 g dietary fibre from bran and bran-containing ingredients per serving of stated size. Where a source of the bran is named, the product should contain at least 2 g dietary fibre per serving from each named source, e.g., "wheat bran and oat bran pancakes" should contain at least 2 g dietary fibre from wheat bran and 2 g dietary fibre from oat bran. For all bran claims, the total dietary fibre content of the food is to be declared in grams per stated serving size (B.01.300, FDR).
If the source of bran is not named, the term "bran" will be considered a reference to wheat bran. Wheat bran contains approximately 42 percent dietary fibre.
Oat bran is defined as the product derived from the dehulled oat kernel (oat groat) which provides, on a dry basis, a minimum content of 13 percent total dietary fibre, of which at least 30 percent must be soluble fibre. The moisture content of the product is not to exceed 12 percent.
A product may be represented as a source of oat bran, provided it contains at least 2 g dietary fibre derived from oat bran meeting the above definition and oat-bran-containing ingredients.
Traditionally, milled corn bran contains 60-65 percent dietary fibre. Products may be represented as sources of corn bran, provided the product contains at least 2 g dietary fibre from traditionally-milled corn bran.
No dietary fibre claims may be made for rice bran, which is considered a safe food ingredient but whose efficacy as a source of dietary fibre has not been established.
The following table provides a summary of the Regulations and guidelines pertaining to dietary fibre claims (see also Sections 6.1, 6.3 and 6.4).
Claim |
Compositional Requirements |
Information Required on Label and Advertisement*: |
a. "contains a moderate amount of (naming the fibre source,
e.g., oat bran)" "source of" "made with (naming the fibre source, e.g., oat bran)" " (naming the fibre source) (naming the food) (e.g., oat bran bread, bran muffins)" |
- greater than or equal to 2 g of dietary fibre/serving when a specific
fibre source is not mentioned and/or |
- dietary fibre in g/serving. (B.01.300) |
b. "high source of..." "high in..." |
- greater than or equal to 4 g of dietary fibre/serving. | - dietary fibre in g/serving. (B.01.300) |
c. "very high source of..." "very high in..." "fibre rich" |
- greater than or equal to 6 g of dietary fibre/serving. | - dietary fibre in g/serving. (B.01.300) |
d. "promotes laxation" "promotes regularity" |
- greater than or equal to 7 g of dietary fibre/serving in a Reasonable Daily Intake (see Annex 1) from coarse wheat bran and from other foods with clinical proof that a Reasonable Daily Intake of food is safe and has a laxation effect. | - dietary fibre in g/serving. (B.01.300) |
e. "(naming the %, fraction or quantity) more fibre/bran than..." | - greater than or equal to 2 g of dietary fibre/serving; and |
- dietary fibre in g/serving. (B.01.300) and or |
* 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.
The following table (from Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada) provides a summary of the fibre sources. This table is current as of September 1995, and is subject to change.
Name (Ingredient Name) | Fibre Labelling: Regular Foods (a) | Fibre Labelling: Meal Replacements (b) | |
Classification of Ingredient as Fibre Source Acceptability as Ingredient (Yes/No) |
Amount of dietary fibre may be calculated for declaration in nutrition labelling. Claim permitted if 2 g or more total dietary fibre/svg (See nutrition labelling guidelines) | Amount of dietary fibre may be calculated for declaration in nutrition labelling. | Claim permitted including "source of fibre" |
Apple pomace, Treetop brand (Apple pomace powder/ Poudre de tourteaux de pommes) - Novel |
No |
No |
No |
Corn bran by traditional milling (less than/equal to 65% total
fibre) Corn bran/Son de maïs - Traditional |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Corn bran by traditional milling (at greater than 65% total fibre) Corn bran/Son de maïs - Novel |
No |
No |
No |
Mustard bran Mustard bran/Son de moutarde - Novel |
No |
No |
No |
Oat bran -- greater than or equal to 13 % total dietary fibre,
greater than or equal to 30% of fibre as soluble fibre, and less than or equal to 12%
moisture Oat bran/ Son d'avoine - Traditional |
Yes |
No |
No |
Oat hulls - ground, bleached Canadian Harvest® Oat Fiber 300-58 (Opta® Food Ingredients) oat hull fibre - Novel |
Yes |
No |
No |
Pea hulls - unbleached, Hi Fi Lite & Centara
(Woodstone Foods) Exlite Coarse (Parrheim Foods) greater than 0.175 mm¹ Ground pea hull fibre/Fibre de cosses de pois moulue - Novel |
Yes. Only in bakery products and cereals. |
No |
No |
Psyllium seed husk Ground psyllium fibre/ Fibre de psyllium moulue - Novel |
Yes. If accepted. |
No |
No |
Rice bran, Fiberice (Farmers Rice Cooperative) Rice bran/ Son de riz - Novel |
No |
No |
No |
Soy cotyledon, Fibrim 300, 1000, 1010, 1250, 1250, 1255, 1450, and
2000 by Protein Technologies International Ground soy cotyledon fibre/Fibre de cotylédon de soya moulue - Novel |
Yes |
No |
No |
Sugar beet fibre, Fibrex (Delta Fibre Foods) (greater than
0.125 mm) Ground sugar beet fibre/Fibre de betterave à sucre moulue - Novel |
Yes. Only in bakery products at less than or equal to 7% |
No |
No |
Wheat bran, coarse (greater than 0.75 mm) Wheat bran/Son de blé - Traditional |
Yes. Claim for regularity if a reasonable daily intake provides 7 g of fibre from coarse wheat bran. |
Yes |
Yes. Claim permitted including "source of fibre" if a serving contains 7 g of fibre from coarse wheat bran. |
Wheat bran, medium (0.5 - 0.75 mm) Wheat bran/Son de blé - Traditional |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Wheat bran, fine (less than 0.5 mm) Wheat bran/Son de blé - Novel |
--- |
No |
No |
Wheat, starch-reduced, Fibrotein Mohawk Oil (mean PS= 0.6
mm) Starch-reduced wheat
Blé à teneur réduite en amidon - Novel |
Yes. "as is" or in baked products such as bread, muffins, cookies and in low temperature extrusion breakfast cereals. |
No |
No |
Whole foods: fruits, vegetables, traditionally-milled cereals
(including rare grains acceptable for food use e.g. quinoa), legumes, nuts, seeds
(including flaxseed), etc. e.g. carrots/carottes, beans/fèves , - Traditional |
Yes. Must not be finely grounded. |
Yes |
No |
¹ -- Figures in name refer to mean particle size as measured by the method of Mongeau, R. and Brassard, R., Cereal Chemistry 59 (5):413-417, 1982.
2-- Oat hull fibre has not been approved for use as a bulking agent for use in calorie reduction. Such a use would be suggested, for example, by the presence of a claim for calorie reduction achieved by means of the addition of oat hull fibre.
a -- Dietary fibre from novel fibre sources may not be calculated and declared in the nutrition labelling table of a food unless proof of efficacy as dietary fibre in the same type of food has been shown through clinical testing to the satisfaction of HPB and a letter of no objection has been issued. (See Food Directorate Guideline No. 9, "Guideline Concerning the Safety and Physiological Effects of Novel Fibre Sources and Food Products Containing Them", revised November 1994.)
b -- Dietary fibre from novel fibre sources may not be calculated and declared in the nutrition labelling table, regardless of their status in "Regular Foods" unless proof of efficacy as dietary fibre in the context of the meal replacement has been shown through clinical testing to the satisfaction of HPB and a letter of no objection has been issued. (See Policy Respecting Dietary Fibre in Meal Replacements, HPB, September, 1993.)
c -- A few examples of novel fibres* not currently recognized as ingredients or sources of fibre.
d -- Some examples of food additives not currently recognized as fibre sources
e -- Definition of dietary fibre:
f -- * Novel Fibre: A "novel fibre" or "novel fibre source" means a food that is manufactured to be a source of dietary fibre, and:
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