Food labelling coordination
From: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Health Canada
Food Directorate
Health Products and Food Branch
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada committed to develop a strategy for coordinating future changes to food labelling requirements. This commitment is laid out in the 2019 Agri-food and aquaculture sector regulatory review roadmap.
To meet this commitment, the CFIA and Health Canada developed the Food labelling coordination: Joint policy statement with support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The policy introduces:
- a process for the CFIA and Health Canada to coordinate food label changes
- predictable compliance date options every 2 years
Why we developed this policy
Industry stakeholders asked for improved coordination of changes to food label requirements to reduce the cost and resources needed to make multiple, consecutive label changes.
Who was consulted
We conducted a public consultation on a draft of the policy to confirm that it provided the appropriate level of certainty for, and coordination of, future food labelling changes. We held the consultation over a 60-day period from February 2 to April 3, 2021. Thirty-two stakeholders from industry, government, health and consumer groups provided feedback. We considered the feedback received to refine the policy. A consultation summary with comments from stakeholders and responses from the CFIA and Health Canada is also available.
Contact information
For any questions, please contact hc.bpiia-bpaii.sc@canada.ca