Canada Nutrition Label Requirements: A Guide for Cottage Food Producers and Small Food Businesses

Learn when nutrition labels are required in Canada, what they must include, common mistakes, and how to generate CFIA-compliant labels without a consultant.

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Quick answer

  • Most prepackaged foods sold in Canada need a Nutrition Facts table. Exceptions exist for specific products and venues, not for business size.
  • If you sell only at farmers markets, craft shows, fairs, or roadside stands and you are the person who prepared and processed the product, you are usually exempt. Refer to CFIA guidance for full conditions.
  • If you sell only at the retail establishment where you prepare and process the food (same premises or off-site premises that supply only that establishment), you are usually exempt.
  • If you make a nutrient content claim or health claim on your label or in advertising, you lose the exemption and must display a Nutrition Facts table.

Do I need a nutrition label?

  1. Is your food prepackaged? If no — stop. No Nutrition Facts table is required.
  2. Do you sell only at farmers markets, craft shows, fairs, or roadside stands, and you made the product yourself? If yes — stop. You are usually exempt, but read the exemptions section below to confirm.
  3. Do you make any nutrition or health claims on the label or in advertising? If yes — you need a Nutrition Facts table regardless of other exemptions.
  4. If you got this far, you likely need a label.

Not sure? Read the full exemptions breakdown below.

Who needs a nutrition facts table in Canada

Unlike the United States, Canada does not have a general small business exemption based on revenue or employee count. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) enforces nutrition labelling under the Food and Drug Regulations. Exemptions are product-based or venue-based, not size-based.

Foods always exempt

These products never need a Nutrition Facts table:

  • Fresh vegetables and fruits without added ingredients (including combinations like salads without dressing)
  • Individual portions intended solely for restaurant service (e.g. creamers served with coffee)
  • Milk in refillable glass containers
  • Products with an available display surface less than 15 cm² (e.g. small individually wrapped candies)

Foods usually exempt (may lose exemption)

If you make a nutrient content claim (e.g. "low sodium") or a health claim, or if you reference energy or nutrients in your label or advertising, you lose the exemption and must display a Nutrition Facts table. Otherwise, these products are usually exempt:

  • Products where all nutrients can be expressed as "0" (e.g. spices, vinegar, some bottled waters)
  • Beverages with alcohol content over 0.5%
  • Raw single-ingredient meat, poultry, fish, or seafood (fresh or frozen)
  • Products sold only in the retail establishment where they are prepared and processed from ingredients
  • Products sold only at a roadside stand, craft show, flea market, fair, farmers' market, or sugar bush by the person who prepared and processed them
  • Individual servings sold for immediate consumption that have not been subjected to special packaging to extend durable life
  • Products sold only in the retail establishment where packaged, labelled by sticker, with an available display surface less than 200 cm²

Cottage food and farmers market edge cases

The exemption for products sold at farmers markets, craft shows, fairs, and similar venues applies only when the vendor is the person who prepared and processed the product. If you resell products made by someone else, or if a larger company sells at these venues, the exemption does not apply. If you sell the same product through other channels (e.g. online, to retailers, or at a different location), you generally need a Nutrition Facts table for those sales.

What happens if you don't comply

The CFIA has the authority to issue stop-sale orders, require product recalls, and refuse entry to non-compliant products at the border. Enforcement actions are not limited to large companies — any product found in non-compliance during an inspection or border check can be affected. Correcting a labelling issue after the fact is straightforward, but dealing with a recall or detained shipment is not.

Know you need a label? Nutrifax generates CFIA-compliant labels from your recipe in minutes. Start free →

How to generate your label

Generating a compliant label in Nutrifax takes about 10 minutes if you have your recipe and ingredient weights ready.

Nutrifax calculates nutrition from Health Canada's Canadian Nutrient File (CNF), the same database used by Canadian regulators. Recipes are broken down by ingredient and measure, and nutrients are summed using CNF values. The system applies Canadian rounding rules and outputs a Nutrition Facts table in a CFIA-compliant format. You can generate labels in English, French, or bilingual. An audit report documents the calculation path (ingredient, measure, and nutrient contribution) for traceability and compliance review.

What the label must include

The Nutrition Facts table must follow the format prescribed in the Food and Drug Regulations. Health Canada's Directory of Nutrition Facts Table Formats (incorporated by reference) defines the graphic and technical requirements. Use it as your source for layout, type size, and structure.

Core nutrients

The table must declare, in this order:

  • Serving of stated size
  • Calories
  • Fat (with Saturated + Trans as sub-items)
  • Carbohydrate (with Fibre and Sugars as sub-items)
  • Protein
  • Cholesterol
  • Sodium
  • Potassium
  • Calcium
  • Iron

Additional nutrients may be declared in the bottom section. All amounts must use the rounding rules set out in the regulations. Refer to CFIA guidance for the exact rounding tables.

Bilingual requirements

Mandatory information on prepackaged foods sold in Canada must appear in both official languages (English and French). The Nutrition Facts table is mandatory information, so it must be bilingual for products sold across Canada. You may use a single bilingual table or separate English and French tables; both must be of equal size and prominence.

Products sold only in Quebec are subject to Quebec's language laws, which require French on all products marketed in the province. English may be optional for Quebec-only sales depending on the context; consult the Office de la langue française for Quebec-specific rules.

Format rules

The table must use a single non-decorative sans serif font (e.g. Helvetica, Arial). Rules, spacing, type size, and leading are prescribed. The table must appear on one continuous surface of the package, be visible under customary conditions of sale, and be oriented consistently with other label information. Refer to the CFIA Compendium of Templates and the Directory of Nutrition Facts Table Formats for exact specifications.

Serving size rules

Serving size is determined using Health Canada's Table of Reference Amounts for Food. Each food category has a reference amount (RA) representing the amount typically consumed in one eating occasion. For multiple-serving products, the serving of stated size must be based on the reference amount for that category.

The table specifies how to declare the serving: metric measure (grams or millilitres), household measure (cups, tablespoons, slices), or both, depending on the product type. For bakery products, the rules vary by format (sliced bread, unsliced loaf, tray with cut marks, etc.). If your product does not clearly fit an existing category, Health Canada recommends contacting the Food and Nutrition Directorate to discuss an appropriate reference amount.

Common mistakes small producers make

Rounding errors

Canadian rounding rules differ from American rules. Values must be rounded according to the tables in the Food and Drug Regulations. Using FDA rounding or ad hoc rounding can produce non-compliant values.

Using American label formats

The US Nutrition Facts panel has a different layout, nutrient order, and daily value basis. A label designed for the FDA is not compliant in Canada. Use a format from the Directory of Nutrition Facts Table Formats.

Missing bilingual text

If you sell outside your immediate local area, your label must include both English and French. Omitting one language is a common compliance failure.

Wrong serving size

Using an arbitrary serving (e.g. "1 cookie" when the reference amount for that category is different) or failing to match the reference amount for your product category can make the entire table non-compliant.

Sources and reference links

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