Serving Size and Rounding Rules (Canada): Practical Guide

The serving of stated size on a Canadian Nutrition Facts table is not your choice. It comes from Health Canada's Table of Reference Amounts for Food, and it is declared as a household measure first with the metric amount in brackets, for example "Per 2 cookies (30 g)". Every value in the table is then rounded by the rules in the Food and Drug Regulations, which differ from the FDA's.

Serving size

Reference amounts

Each food category has a reference amount: the quantity of that food usually eaten at one sitting. For a multi-serving package, the serving of stated size is based on the reference amount for your category, expressed in a household measure that suits the food (cups, tablespoons, pieces, slices) with the metric equivalent in brackets. For bakery products the rules vary by format: sliced loaf, unsliced loaf, tray with cut marks. If your product does not fit an existing category, Health Canada suggests contacting the Food and Nutrition Directorate.

Why it matters

Per-serving values are total nutrients multiplied by serving size over total yield. Change the serving and every number on the table changes with it. A serving chosen to flatter the sodium line is the first thing an inspector or a retailer's compliance check will question.

Rounding rules

The Food and Drug Regulations set an increment for each nutrient, and the CFIA reproduces the table on its Nutrition Facts table page:

• Calories: under 5 show as 0; 5 to 50 round to the nearest 5; over 50 to the nearest 10
• Fat: under 0.5 g shows as 0 g; 0.5 g to 5 g to the nearest 0.5 g; over 5 g to the nearest 1 g
• Sodium: under 5 mg shows as 0 mg; 5 mg to 140 mg to the nearest 5 mg; over 140 mg to the nearest 10 mg
• Carbohydrate, fibre, and sugars: under 0.5 g shows as 0 g; 0.5 g and over to the nearest 1 g
• Protein: under 0.5 g to the nearest 0.1 g; 0.5 g and over to the nearest 1 g
• Cholesterol: to the nearest 5 mg
• % Daily Value: to the nearest 1%; saturated plus trans shows 0% when both are declared as 0 g

Where Canada differs from the FDA: protein under 0.5 g is shown to 0.1 g in Canada, where the US shows "less than 1 g". Carbohydrate between 0.5 g and 1 g rounds to 1 g in Canada, where the US may show "less than 1 g". Copying values from a US panel produces a table that is wrong in Canada even when the recipe is identical.

Common mistakes

• picking a serving that flatters the numbers instead of the reference amount for the category
• changing the yield without changing the serving, so per-serving values drift from batch to batch
• rounding by eye, or using FDA rounding, and getting values an inspector can recompute and reject
• reusing an old export after a recipe change. The rounding is only as good as the inputs

What to do in Nutrifax

1. Set servings or yield in the recipe builder to match the reference amount for your category.
2. Check ingredient quantities and units.
3. Generate the Canadian table. Nutrifax applies the Canadian rounding rules, not the FDA's.
4. If the values differ from your last print run, find what changed in the recipe before you print.
5. Save the export with the recipe version.

Related pages

• Canada Nutrition Label Requirements for Small Food Businesses
• When Nutrition Labels Are Required in Canada
• How to Generate and Print Nutrition Labels in Nutrifax
• Canada nutrition label generator (CFIA)

Sources

• Health Canada: Table of Reference Amounts for Food
• CFIA: Nutrition Facts table (rounding rules)
• CFIA: Nutrition labelling (industry)
• Health Canada: Nutrition labelling overview

Disclaimer

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