Most prepackaged food sold in Canada needs a Nutrition Facts table. Exemptions are by product and by venue, never by business size. The two that matter for small producers: food you made yourself and sell only at farmers markets, craft shows, fairs, or roadside stands, and food sold only in the shop where you make it. Any nutrient content or health claim ends either exemption.
Always exempt
- fresh fruit and vegetables with no added ingredients
- individual portions served in restaurants, such as coffee creamers
- milk in refillable glass containers
- packages with an available display surface under 15 cm², such as individually wrapped candies
Usually exempt, until you make a claim
- food you prepared and processed yourself, sold only at a roadside stand, craft show, flea market, fair, farmers' market, or sugar bush
- food sold only in the retail establishment where it was prepared and processed from ingredients
- food packaged in the retail establishment where it is sold, labelled by sticker, with a display surface under 200 cm²
- individual servings sold for immediate consumption, without packaging that extends shelf life
- raw single-ingredient meat, poultry, fish, and seafood
- beverages over 0.5% alcohol
- foods whose nutrients would all read "0", such as spices, vinegar, and some bottled waters
What ends an exemption
- a nutrient content claim ("low sodium", "source of fibre"), a health claim, or any mention of energy or nutrients on the label or in advertising
- selling the same product through another channel: online, to a retailer, to a cafe. Those sales need a table
- reselling food someone else made. The market exemption belongs to the person who prepared and processed it
Decision list
- Is the food prepackaged? If not, no table.
- Any nutrient content or health claim? If yes, you need a table.
- Did you make it, and do you sell it only at markets, fairs, or roadside stands? Usually exempt.
- Do you sell it only in the establishment where you make it? Usually exempt.
- Otherwise, you need a Nutrition Facts table in the CFIA format, bilingual unless a language exemption applies.
What to do in Nutrifax
- Build or import the recipe and check each ingredient match.
- Set the serving of stated size from Health Canada's reference amount for your category.
- Generate the Canadian standard or bilingual table and export PDF or PNG.
- Save the audit report with the recipe version.
Related pages
Sources
Disclaimer
Educational content only; not legal advice. Confirm the final label against current regulations for your product and jurisdiction.