CFIA Compliance Guide

CFIA Nutrition Label Requirements: Complete Guide for Canadian Food Producers

If you sell food in Canada, you need a CFIA-compliant Nutrition Facts table on your packaging. This guide covers everything you need to know — mandatory nutrients, rounding rules, bilingual requirements, and common mistakes that get products pulled from shelves.

CFIA Nutrition Label Requirements Guide

What is the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT)?

The Nutrition Facts table (NFT) is a mandatory label element on most pre-packaged foods sold in Canada. It's regulated under the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR), enforced by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and follows formats prescribed in the Directory of Nutrition Facts Table Formats.

The standard format is Figure 1.1(E) — Standard Bilingual Column Format, which displays nutrients in both English and French in a single column layout.

Mandatory Nutrients

Every Canadian Nutrition Facts table must declare these nutrients in this exact order:

  1. 1Calories (with kilojoules recommended)
  2. 2Fat (total)
  3. 3Saturated fat
  4. 4Trans fat
  5. 5Carbohydrate (total)
  6. 6Fibre
  7. 7Sugars
  8. 8Protein
  9. 9Cholesterol
  10. 10Sodium
  11. 11Potassium
  12. 12Calcium
  13. 13Iron

Key Canadian differences from FDA (US): Cholesterol has no % Daily Value in Canada. Saturated and trans fat share one combined % DV. Carbohydrate and protein show amounts only (no % DV).

Health Canada Daily Values (2022)

% Daily Values on Canadian labels use Health Canada's table for adults and children 4+:

NutrientDaily Value
Fat75 g
Saturated + Trans fat20 g
Sodium2,300 mg
Fibre28 g
Sugars100 g
Potassium3,400 mg
Calcium1,300 mg
Iron18 mg

Source: Health Canada Table of Daily Values

Bilingual Requirements

Both English and French are mandatory on all food labels sold in Canada (with limited exceptions for local sales). The NFT must display all nutrient names in both languages — either stacked (EN / FR) or in separate columns.

Example: Fat / Lipides, Protein / Protéines, Sodium / Sodium (same in both languages).

CFIA Rounding Rules (Schedule M)

Canada has its own rounding rules for each nutrient — completely different from the US FDA rules. Each nutrient has multiple threshold bands with specific rounding increments. There are over 30 individual rules covering calories, macronutrients (fat, carbs, protein), minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, iron), and vitamins (A, C, D) — each with their own breakpoints and precision requirements.

Why this matters: A product with 3.7g of fat per serving should display"3.5 g" on a Canadian label — not "4 g" (US rounding) or "3.7 g" (no rounding). Getting this wrong means your label is non-compliant.

The full rounding rules are defined in the CFIA Nutrition Facts table guidance and FDR Schedule M. NutriBoard applies all of them automatically.

Common Compliance Mistakes

✗Showing % Daily Value for cholesterol (Canada: amount only, no %DV)
✗Using FDA Daily Values instead of Health Canada values
✗Missing bilingual text (EN/FR is mandatory, not optional)
✗Wrong rounding — applying US FDA rules instead of CFIA Schedule M
✗Separate % DV for saturated and trans fat (Canada: one combined %DV)
✗Missing the 5%/15% footnote (mandatory on Canadian labels)

Skip the manual compliance work

NutriBoard applies all CFIA rounding rules, uses Health Canada Daily Values, and generates bilingual labels automatically. Focus on your product, not the regulations.

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