Canadian Labelling Guide

How to Create a Bilingual Nutrition Facts Table for Canada

Canadian law requires all food labels to be in both English and French. This includes the Nutrition Facts table, ingredient list, allergen statement, and all mandatory information. Here's how to get it right.

Why bilingual labels are mandatory

Under the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR B.01.450), all pre-packaged food products sold in Canada must display mandatory label information in both official languages — English and French.

This applies to the Nutrition Facts table, ingredient list, allergen declarations, common name, net quantity, and all other required information. The only exceptions are products sold at local farmers' markets in certain provinces, and some products sold exclusively within Quebec (French only) or exclusively outside Quebec (English only with conditions).

Bilingual nutrient names

The standard format uses slash-separated bilingual names on each line:

Nutrition Facts / Valeur nutritive

Per 1 tbsp (15 g) / pour 1 c. à soupe (15 g)

Calories 120

Fat / Lipides 7 g 9 %

Saturated / saturés 1 g

+ Trans / trans 0 g 5 %

Carbohydrate / Glucides 14 g

Fibre / Fibres 1 g 4 %

Sugars / Sucres 10 g 10 %

Protein / Protéines 2 g

Cholesterol / Cholestérol 0 mg

Sodium 50 mg 2 %

Potassium 85 mg 3 %

Calcium 20 mg 2 %

Iron / Fer 1 mg 6 %

French terminology you need

English	French
Nutrition Facts	Valeur nutritive
Calories	Calories
Fat	Lipides
Saturated	saturés
Trans	trans
Carbohydrate	Glucides
Fibre	Fibres
Sugars	Sucres
Protein	Protéines
Cholesterol	Cholestérol
Sodium	Sodium
Iron	Fer
Ingredients:	Ingrédients :
Contains:	Contient :

Note the French typography: space before colon (Ingrédients :), accent marks (Protéines, Cholestérol), and space before % (5 %).

Serving size in both languages

The serving declaration must also be bilingual with correct abbreviations:

Per 1 tsp (5 mL)pour 1 c. à thé (5 mL)

Per 2 tbsp (30 mL)pour 2 c. à soupe (30 mL)

Per 1 cup (250 mL)pour 1 tasse (250 mL)

Per 3 cookies (40 g)pour 3 biscuits (40 g)

The footnote (mandatory)

Every Canadian NFT must include the 5%/15% interpretive footnote in both languages:

*5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot

*5 % ou moins c'est peu, 15 % ou plus c'est beaucoup

Skip the manual translation work

NutriBoard generates bilingual EN/FR Nutrition Facts tables automatically. All nutrient names, serving sizes, and footnotes in both official languages — by default.

Create a bilingual label →