Bilingual Nutrition Label Rules in Canada

Mandatory information on prepackaged food sold in Canada must appear in both English and French. That includes the Nutrition Facts table, the common name, the ingredient list, and the net quantity. The exemptions are specific: local foods sold only in and around the municipality where they were made, specialty foods, and test market foods. Quebec adds its own French-language rules on top.

What must be bilingual

Everything the regulations make mandatory: the common name, the ingredient list and allergen statement, the net quantity, the best-before wording, and the Nutrition Facts table. Two things may appear in one language only: the name and address of the manufacturer or dealer, and the common names of certain alcoholic beverages.

The Nutrition Facts table

You have two options, and either way both languages must get equal size and prominence:

• a single bilingual table, with each line in English and French. Health Canada's Directory of Nutrition Facts Table Formats includes bilingual formats as their own set
• separate English and French tables

Nutrifax generates both: a bilingual table, or an English table and a French table from the same recipe.

Exemptions

Local foods

Three conditions, all required. The food is sold only in the local government unit where it was made, or in adjacent ones. In that unit, one official language is the mother tongue of fewer than 10% of residents. And the label is in the language that is the mother tongue of at least 10% of residents. Many English-majority municipalities meet the language condition. The binding condition is the first one: ship outside your municipality and the neighbouring ones, and the exemption is gone.

Specialty foods

Foods with special religious significance used in religious ceremonies, and some imported foods that meet the CFIA's criteria, may be labelled in one language. Kosher foods in general are not specialty foods. Kosher Passover foods are, from 40 days before to 20 days after Passover.

Test market foods

Foods with a test marketing authorisation from the CFIA can be labelled in one language for the period of the authorisation. This requires a formal application.

Quebec

Quebec's Charter of the French Language requires French on every product marketed in the province, at least as prominent as any other language. The federal bilingual rules still apply, so a product sold across Quebec needs both languages unless it qualifies as a local food. The Office québécois de la langue française publishes the provincial rules.

Common mistakes

• an English-only table on a product that ships outside the local area
• separate English and French tables of different sizes
• translating a US panel's terms by hand and calling it a bilingual table. The Canadian table has its own nutrient order, Daily Values, and rounding
• treating a bilingual town as a local food exemption without checking the sales area condition

What to do in Nutrifax

1. Build the recipe and confirm each ingredient match.
2. Choose the Canadian bilingual table, or generate an English table and a French table from the same recipe.
3. Preview at final print size. The bilingual table takes more space than a single-language one, so check it fits your package.
4. Export PDF or PNG and test print on the real stock.

Related pages

• Canada Nutrition Label Requirements for Small Food Businesses
• Serving Size and Rounding Rules (Canada)
• How to Generate and Print Nutrition Labels in Nutrifax
• Canada nutrition label generator (CFIA)

Sources

• CFIA: Bilingual food labelling
• CFIA: Nutrition labelling (industry)
• Health Canada: Directory of Nutrition Facts Table Formats
• CFIA: Food labelling for industry

Disclaimer

Educational content only; not legal advice. Confirm the final label against current regulations for your product and jurisdiction.