Yes! Food Label Maker offers nutrition facts labels designed to align with CFIA regulations. While these labels meet the standards outlined by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), they are not pre-approved and require final submission to CFIA for approval.
Food Label Maker offers two methods for ensuring compliance with CFIA regulations: users can either input recipes into the software to generate compliant bilingual and Front-of-Pack Canadian labels or engage an expert for personalized guidance.
What’s Included in a CFIA-Compliant Label?
✅ Nutrition Facts Panel – Displays serving size, calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, protein, vitamins, and minerals. ✅ Ingredient List – Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight, following CFIA formatting rules. ✅ Allergen Declaration – Clearly identifies priority allergens per CFIA guidelines. ✅ Bilingual Labels – Labels are available in both English and French as required by Canadian regulations. In Québec, additional language laws (e.g., Bill 96) require that French text be no less prominent than English. Ensure that French text is at least as visible as English, with comparable font size and placement.
Submission Requirements for CFIA Compliance Review
To use the CFIA compliance review service, you need to provide:
A PDF copy of your designed label.
A complete list of ingredients or recipe details. It’s important to note that a physical sample of the product is not required for the label review.### User Responsibilities for Final CFIA Submission While Food Label Maker ensures labels align with CFIA standards, it is the user’s responsibility to submit their label to the CFIA for official approval. Users may need to provide additional documentation if requested by CFIA, though typically the label’s data should suffice.
Available CFIA Label Formats
Food Label Maker offers: ✔️ Standard Bilingual Canadian Label (English & French) ✔️ Dual Column Canadian Label If your downloaded label only displays in English, ensure you select the 'CFIA label' format on the recipe builder page or use the 'Customize Label' tab to download the bilingual version.
✔️ Canadian Front of Pack Label Food Label Maker provides two options to determine FOP compliance: users may either use an automated software solution or opt for an expert assessment to generate the label and help you identify if their product requires the 'high sugar' symbol.
Customizing and Resizing Your Labels### Troubleshooting Common Bilingual Label Issues
French Ingredient List Does Not Update Automatically
If the French ingredient list does not update when you modify the English list, it may be due to the use of custom ingredients. Only system-recognized ingredients are auto-translated. For custom ingredients, you will need to manually translate them into French.
If the default bilingual label size is too large for your packaging: ✅ Download Your Label – Start by downloading the standard bilingual label from Food Label Maker. ✅ Resize as Needed – Use any resizing software to adjust the label dimensions to fit your packaging requirements. To display values per 100 g while retaining the bilingual format, adjust your recipe setup so that one serving equals 100 g. Calculate the number of servings as follows: Number of Servings = Total Recipe Yield in grams ÷ 100. For example, if your total recipe yield is 527 g, set the number of servings to 5.27 (527 ÷ 5.27 = 100 g).
Explore different CFIA nutrition label templates here.
📊 Automatic Updates: When you enter calorie information in the recipe builder, your Nutrition Facts Panel automatically updates, ensuring accuracy and compliance with CFIA regulations.
To begin generating your label, ensure you have the following details ready: the complete recipe, ingredient quantities (with unit measurements), and the final product's net weight. This information is crucial to meet CFIA requirements accurately.
🚀 Want to try it out? Create a free label
Related Resources
📚 Learn More About: • How to Use the Recipe Builder for Accurate Calorie Calculations • Understanding Regional Labeling Requirements: Canada vs. Other Markets • Troubleshooting Label Resizing Issues