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Canadian Import, Export and Interprovincial Requirements for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

*** NOTE *** This information is intended to provide an overview of federal requirements of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations and the Licensing and Arbitration Regulations for the import, export and interprovincial marketing of fresh fruit and vegetables. This information is not intended to replace any federal regulations. The regulations should be referenced for the official requirements and any established exemptions.

QUESTIONS on dealing in fresh fruit and vegetables may be directed to the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Specialists at any of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency regional offices or the Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Section in Ottawa.

Canadian import requirements

  1. The Canadian importer is required to be LICENSED with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and/or be a member of the Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC). Importers that are retailers selling directly to consumers with sales under $230,000 per year are exempt. To determine if a an importer is licensed a shipper may contact any of the CFIA regional offices or the DRC office at 613-234-0982. A CFIA licence and/or membership with the DRC provides a mechanism for dispute resolution of any quality or payment issues in produce transactions.
  2. MINIMUM GRADE for the following products must meet a grade standard as prescribed in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations: Apples, apricots, green asparagus, beets with tops removed, blueberries, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupes, carrots with tops removed, cauliflower, celery, cherries, sweet corn, crabapples, cranberries, field and greenhouse cucumbers (excludes pickling), grapes, head lettuce (iceberg type), onions with tops removed, parsnips, peaches, pears, plums, prunes, rutabagas, strawberries (only if grade is used) and field and greenhouse tomatoes (excludes cherry tomatoes), and potatoes.

    Exceptions to the above paragraph: Apples from the United States must meet Extra Fancy or Fancy Grade; apples from any other country, or bonded through the United States must meet Extra Fancy Grade, Fancy Grade, or Commercial Grade. Potatoes from any country must meet Canada No. 1.

  3. Apples, onions and potatoes require an INSPECTION CERTIFICATE indicating minimum Canadian import requirements for quality, labelling, and packaging are met: (for plant protection requirements, see sub-section below)
    • Apples, onions and potatoes from the United States: a USDA inspection certificate FV205 is recognized by the CFIA.
    • Apples from New Zealand: an inspection certificate prepared by the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is recognized by the CFIA.
    • Apples, onions and potatoes from other countries must be inspected and certified by CFIA upon arrival to meet Canadian minimum import requirements.
  4. STANDARD CONTAINERS: see standard container section

    Consumer-sized products (prepackaged) must be labelled with the information required under the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations. Labelling of shipping and master containers is prescribed in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations. For summary information see labelling requirements section.

  5. A CONFIRMATION OF SALE (COS): form in triplicate, completed, and signed, is required at time of entry. You may obtain a copy of the Confirmation of Sale from your local CFIA regional office or on the CFIA web site - COS. A copy of the COS must be maintained at the premises of the Canadian importer.
  6. HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: Fresh fruit and vegetables (including fresh herbs, fresh cut fruits & vegetables and sprouts) and edible fungi imported into Canada must comply with the health and safety requirements of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations and the Food And Drug Regulations. Contact your CFIA regional office for information on additives, nutritional labelling and claims, food microbiology, irradiated foods, chemical residues or other food contaminants.
  7. PLANT PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS: There may be plant protection requirements such as phytosanitary certificates or import permits for specific commodities imported from certain countries. Additionally, some products may be prohibited entry into Canada until a pest risk assessment has been completed. To avoid a delay or refusal at the border, importers should contact the CFIA Import Service Centre prior to ordering the shipment.
  8. EXEMPTIONS TO REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS: Container, labelling and grade requirements may be waived through the issuance of a Ministerial Exemption in the case of a shortage of domestic supply in Canada. A ministerial exemption is approved for movement of bulk shipments for processing or repacking purposes only. USDA inspection certificates are still required on bulk shipments of apples, onions, and potatoes. For information on requesting a Ministerial Exemption see the Guidelines for Requesting Ministerial Exemptions.
    • A DEALER bringing in fresh products does not have to comply with the grade, packaging & labelling or inspection certification requirements if the shipment does not exceed 15 packages and a total weight of 250 kg., or if the produce is destined for livestock feeding, or donated to a registered charitable organization. Plant protection and health and safety requirements are still applicable.
    • A TRAVELLER may be exempted from the licensing, grade, packaging & labelling or inspection certification requirements if the shipment does not exceed 15 packages and a total weight of 250 kg and is for personal consumption. Plant protection requirements and health and safety are still applicable.
    • There are specific fresh fruit and vegetables that are not covered by the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations. See the section Application in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations.
  9. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA): for questions on CUSTOMS DOCUMENTATION or TARIFFS please contact your local CBSA office or their website. http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca

IMPORT QUOTAS do not apply to fresh produce.

Interprovincial requirements

If you ship domestically produced fruit and vegetables from one province to another please ensure the following:

  1. Growers/shippers of their own produce, or shippers who buy fresh produce solely within the province, in which they are located do not need to be licensed. However the receiver must be LICENSED with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), or be a member of Dispute Resolution Corporation (DRC).
  2. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations prescribe grade standards for 30 fresh fruits and vegetables. All produce for which a grade is established must meet one of the grades when shipped interprovincially. Strawberries and blueberries for processing are exempt, unless a grade is declared.
  3. The following commodities require an INSPECTION by the CFIA and the inspection certificate must travel with the shipment:
    • Apples grown in and shipped from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario or British Columbia;
    • Potatoes grown in and shipped from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec or Ontario;
    • Blueberries grown and shipped in containers of 6 L or less from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island.

    The CFIA may issue Release Permits when an inspection cannot be performed within the time described in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations.

    The inspection requirement does not apply to product prepared in a registered establishment.

  4. STANDARD CONTAINERS: see standard container section
  5. LABELLING: see labelling requirements section.
  6. A CONFIRMATION OF SALE (COS) form must accompany the load. An exception to this requirement is if the load has already been imported or shipped interprovincially and was accompanied by a COS.
  7. HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: Fresh fruit and vegetables (including fresh herbs, fresh cut fruits & vegetables and sprouts) and edible fungi shipped interprovincially must comply with the health and safety requirements of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations and the Food And Drug Regulations. Contact your CFIA regional office for information on additives, nutritional labelling and claims, food microbiology, irradiated foods, chemical residues or other food contaminants.
  8. EXEMPTIONS TO REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS: Container, labelling and grade requirements may be waived through the issuance of a Ministerial Exemption (prior to shipment) when there is a shortage of domestic supplies in the receiving province. A ministerial exemption is approved for movement of bulk shipments for processing or repacking purposes only. For information on requesting a Ministerial Exemption see the Guidelines for Requesting Ministerial Exemptions.

    The sale of fresh fruit and vegetables within a province is regulated by provincial authorities, and any questions should be referred to the provincial department of agriculture.

    The same exemptions apply for dealers and travellers as covered in the Import Section.

Canadian export requirements

  1. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations and the Licensing and Arbitration Regulations do not apply to exporters or shipments for export.
  2. For fresh products falling under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations there are no grade requirements to export.

    The USDA requires onions, potatoes and field tomatoes destined for the USA or Puerto Rico to be inspected and certified to meet their import requirements. A CFIA inspection certificate is honoured by the USDA.

  3. Container size and labelling requirements are determined by the importing country.
  4. Exporters and travellers should contact the importing country's department of agriculture or its embassy/consulate/trade commission in Canada regarding a foreign country's requirements for quality, packaging, labelling, health, or phytosanitary certification on fresh fruit and vegetables.

Standard containers

There are prescribed standard container sizes for the following products if prepackaged: beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, potatoes and rutabagas. Please consult Schedule II, Table I of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations and the Test Market list.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, for which a grade is established, may not be marketed in import or interprovincial trade in containers exceeding 50 kg, except for apples where the maximum container size is 200 kg.

Under certain conditions, a Ministerial Exemption may be granted to permit movement in non-standard container sizes. For information on requesting a Ministerial Exemption see the General Guidelines for Requesting Ministerial Exemptions.

Labelling requirements

Please use the following summary as a guide to the basic labelling requirements under the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations, the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations.

A "prepackaged product" means a produce that is packaged in a container in such a manner that it is ordinarily sold to, or purchased by a consumer without being re-packaged. In general, prepackaged fresh products have the following labelling requirements:

  1. COMMON NAME (and variety name for apples). The common name is not necessary if the product is readily visible and identifiable.
  2. NET QUANTITY DECLARATION of the product must be declared by count, weight or volume in metric or metric and Canadian units. If both metric and Canadian units are used, they must be grouped together with metric first. The abbreviations for grams, kilograms, pounds and ounces, should be in lower case letters with no "s", brackets, or periods; for example: NET WT 12 oz, 340 g POIDS NET or POIDS NET WT 12 oz, 340 g
  3. NAME AND ADDRESS the identity and principal place of business of the person by or for whom the produce was produced or packaged for resale. This should include the name of the person, city, province (state), and postal or zip code. This declaration may appear in either English or French.
  4. GRADE NAME the Canada grade name, if one is established for the commodity (e.g. Canada No. 1) or equivalent if the product is imported (U.S. No.1, No.1). The Canada grade is restricted to produce grown in Canada.
  5. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN for imported product, the words "Product of (name of country)" or other words that clearly indicate the country in which the produce was grown must appear in close proximity to the grade name or net quantity declaration. Close proximity is defined as not more than two line spaces above or below, or two type spaces before or after the grade or net quantity declaration.

    Whole fresh fruits and vegetables from different countries packaged together must declare all countries of origin.

  6. NUTRITION FACTS are not required for fresh fruits and vegetables unless a nutrition claim is made. When a nutrition facts table is applied to a label, it must meet all requirements as set out in the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations.
  7. BILINGUALISM all mandatory information must appear in English and French, except name and address and variety for apples, which may be in English or French.
  8. The MINIMUM HEIGHT OF CHARACTERS for net quantity, grade name and country of origin is governed by the total area of the principal display surface of the package. See section 12 of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations.
  9. Labels for yellow fleshed potatoes may show "yellow fleshed" or "yellow fleshed potatoes" in bold face type. (Test Market - July 20, 2009)
  10. The universal product code (UPC) is not obligatory; contact the GS1 Canada, www.gs1ca.org;
  11. OTHER MANDATORY INFORMATION may be required, depending on the nature of the food or the type of claims being made.
  12. SHIPPING and MASTER CONTAINERS must be labelled with the same information as prepackaged consumer packages except for:
    • Containers may be labelled in one of the official languages (English or French).
    • Master containers need not be marked with the net weight of the container. (Metric or Canadian units or both)
    • Required information need not be marked on the master container if it can easily be read through the outer container.

Label review

There is no label registration or approval process for fresh fruit and vegetable products. For labelling assistance, contact your CFIA regional office or a private label consultant.

Registered establishments

Any facility which packs and ships produce for which grade standards are established may apply for registration. Registered establishments which pack and ship apples, potatoes, and blueberries are exempt for the interprovincial inspection requirement.

Inspection

At any time, the Canadian Food inspection Agency may randomly inspect any food product to ensure that minimum requirements (grade, labelling, standard containers and health standards) are met.

For inspection fees the CFIA Fees Notice should be referenced.

Regional Canadian Food Inspection Agency offices

Questions on marketing fresh fruit and vegetables may be directed to the CFIA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Specialists at any of the offices listed below:

Atlantic 506-392-5814
Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Area Network Specialist
Agrifood Division
8768 Main Street, Unit #2
Florenceville-Bristol, NB, E7L 3G3

Quebec 514-283-8888
Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Area Network Specialist
Agrifood Division
Place London Life, 7th Floor
2001 University Avenue
Montreal, Quebec H3A 3N2

Ontario 519-837-9400
Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Area Network Specialist
Agrifood Division
174 Stone Road West
Guelph, Ontario N1G 4S9

Manitoba and Saskatchewan 204-984-6186
Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Area Network Specialist
Agrifood Division
613-269 Main Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 1B2

Alberta 403-292-6746
Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Area Network Specialist
Agrifood Division
1115 57th Ave NE
Calgary, Alberta
T2E 9B2

British Columbia 604-666-7743
Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Area Network Specialist
Agrifood Division
4321 Still Creek Drive
Burnaby, BC V5C 6S7

Import Service Centres (ISC)

Import Service Centres process import request documentation/data sent electronically or by fax by the importing community across Canada.

Destination Inspection Services

Receiving Deteriorated Product: If a receiver in Canada has received produce in a deteriorated condition or has agreed to handle product in a deteriorated condition, they are required to request an inspection within 24 hours of reception. The CFIA Destination Inspection Service can provide an inspection for this purpose. These inspections assist buyers and sellers in reaching a fair settlement.

Fruits and Vegetable regulated by the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Regulations

FRESH FRUIT & VEGETABLES FOR WHICH GRADES ARE ESTABLISHED:

Fruit:

1. Apples
2. Apricots 
3. Blueberries (exception - for processing)
4. Cantaloupes
5. Cherries
6. Crabapples
7. Cranberries
8. Grapes
9. Peaches
10. Pears
11. Plums & Prunes
12. Field Rhubarb
13. Strawberries (exception - if no grade is used)

Vegetables: (miniature vegetables are excluded, but miniature cucumbers are included)

14. Asparagus (exception - white asparagus)
15. Beets (exception - beets with tops) 
16. Brussels Sprouts
17. Cabbages
18. Carrots (exception - carrots with tops)
19. Cauliflower
20. Celery
21. Sweet Corn
22. Field Cucumbers (exception - pickling cucumbers)
23. Greenhouse Cucumbers
24. Head Lettuce - Iceberg type
25. Onions (exception - onions with tops)
26. Parsnips
27. Potatoes (excluded if certified for seed)
28. Rutabagas
29. Field Tomatoes (exception - cherry tomatoes)
30. Greenhouse Tomatoes

APPLICATION OF THE FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES REGULATIONS

There are certain products to which the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations (other than the Health and Safety section) do not apply: See the regulations for the complete list. The more common ones are:

  • white asparagus, pickling cucumbers and cherry tomatoes;
  • miniature vegetables with the exception of miniature cucumbers;
  • beets, carrots and onions, the tops of which are not removed;
  • seed potatoes
  • strawberries, unless a grade is used in respect thereof;
  • produce destined for livestock feeding or for the preparation of animal food in respect of which, in the case of import and interprovincial trade, a certificate or permit attesting to that fact has been issued by the appropriate government authority;
  • produce that is part of an emigrant's or an immigrant's effects;
  • produce carried on any vessel, train, motor vehicle, aircraft or other means of transportation for use as food for the crew or passengers thereof;
  • shipments of one or more kinds of produce, consisting of not more than 15 containers and weighing, in the aggregate, not more than 250 kg;
  • produce donated to any organization that is a registered charity under the Income Tax Act or is a non-profit organization within the meaning of that Act.

Arbitration mechanisms

For information on dispute resolution with CFIA licensees, or to register a complaint with the Board of Arbitration contact:

Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Section
Agrifood Division
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
1400 Merivale Road
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0Y9
Telephone: 1-800-442-2342
Fax: 613-773-6282

For information on dispute resolution with DRC members, contact the DRC.

Building 75
Experimental Farm
930 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0C6
Telephone: 613-234-0982
Fax: 613-234-8036
website: www.fvdrc.com

Complaints by Canadian exporters against U.S. receivers can be made through the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA), USDA, Telephone: 202-720-2890.


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