Human Nutrition

Front of Package Label Requirements for Canada

Canada’s minister of health has announced the adoption of front-of-package nutrition label regulations for Canada. The new mandatory label will appear on food and beverages that are high in sodium, sugar or saturated fat. This new policy is meant to help Canadians make healthier food and beverage choices more easily. Beyond guiding healthy choices, mandatory labels in Canada are also expected to incentivize companies to develop healthier products and reformulate existing foods to avoid the label.

These front-of package labels are simple to read and includes a magnifying glass designed to catch the attention of consumers. The size of the symbol will depend on the size of the food package but is meant to be easily visible. The symbol will be positioned on the upper half, and/or right side of packages. The food industry has until January 1, 2026 to add this symbol to any product that meets the criteria, but you may see these symbols start to roll out in the grocery store any time before then.

What food and beverages will require a front-of-package label?
• The packaged food contains >15% DV of sugar, sodium, or saturated fat
o This translates to any product with >15g of sugar, 3g of saturated fat, and 345mg of sodium
• For packaged foods with a small serving size (ex. 2 tbsp or less), for example, a condiment or salad dressing, the symbol will be included if the food contains >10% DV of those nutrients.
o This translates to >10g of sugar, >2g of saturated fat, and 230mg sodium per serving
• Pre-packaged main dishes, such as a frozen dinner, that contain >30% DV of sugar, sodium, or saturated fat
o This translates to >30g sugar, >6g saturated fat, and >690mg sodium per meal

For many food and beverage manufactures these new front-of-packing labels mean developing and/or reformulating food and beverage products to reduce sodium, sugar and/or fat to avoid these warning labels. Since these regulations tend to have a ripple effect, it may not be just Canadian food and beverage manufacturers that are affected by these upcoming labels, many other countries have either already implemented "high in" symbols or are starting to consider these labels. At Barentz we specialize in finding the right solutions for your application, we have a variety of ingredients from world-class suppliers to help achieve sodium, sugar and/or fat reduction in food and beverage products. If you are interested in learning more about our innovative ingredients, click the "contact us" button below.


https://www.heartandstroke.ca/what-we-do/media-centre/news-releases/new-front-of-package-nutrition-labels-announced-for-canada
https://www.realgoodeats.ca/health-canada-front-of-package-labelling-what-does-it-mean/