10 Nutrition Label Mistakes Canadian Food Producers Make

This is the most common mistake when using US-based tools. The Canadian Daily Value for fat is 75g (not 65g), iron is 18mg (not 14mg), and sodium is 2,300mg (not 2,400mg). Every %DV on your label will be wrong if you use the wrong reference values.

In the US, cholesterol shows a %DV. In Canada, it does not. The Canadian Nutrition Facts table shows cholesterol as an amount in mg only — no percentage. This is one of the most visible differences between a US and Canadian label.

All mandatory label information must appear in both official languages. This includes the Nutrition Facts table heading, all nutrient names, serving declaration, ingredient list, allergen statement, and the 5%/15% footnote. English-only labels are non-compliant.

US labels show separate %DV for saturated fat and trans fat. Canadian labels show one combined %DV for both, vertically centred between the two rows. This is a dead giveaway that a label was generated by a US tool.

Every Canadian Nutrition Facts table must include the interpretive footnote: "*5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot" in both English and French. Many labels generated by generic tools omit this. It's mandatory under FDR B.01.460.

Potassium was made a mandatory nutrient declaration in the 2016 FDR amendments. Labels created before this change that haven't been updated are missing a required nutrient. Potassium appears after sodium in the prescribed order.

Canadian rounding rules are different from US rules for almost every nutrient. For example, 3.7g of fat rounds to 3.5g in Canada (nearest 0.5g) but 4g in the US (nearest 1g). Using the wrong rounding rules means every value on your label could be incorrect.

Canada has a specific list of priority allergens that must always be declared: peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat/triticale, soy, sesame, mustard, seafood (fish, crustaceans, shellfish), and sulphites. Missing any of these triggers a Class I recall — the most serious category.

Products high in saturated fat, sugars, or sodium must display the FOP nutrition symbol. There are 7 variants depending on which nutrients exceed the threshold. Using the wrong variant — or missing the symbol entirely — is a compliance violation.

Health Canada updated the Table of Daily Values in 2022. Iron went from 14mg to 18mg (a 29% change), fat from 65g to 75g, calcium from 1,100mg to 1,300mg. Any label still using the old values has incorrect %DV across multiple nutrients.