We're making improvements to the nutrition facts table and list of ingredients on food labels. These amendments will improve the Nutrition Facts table and list of ingredients to make them easier to understand thereby helping Canadians to make informed choices. A five-year transition period, ending on December 14, 2021, was provided to allow sufficient time for industry to make the necessary changes to their labels and also to use up any existing stocks of labels already printed to comply with current requirements. However, given the challenges imposed by COVID-19, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will focus its efforts on education and compliance promotion for the first year, until December 14, 2022. As of December 15, 2022, CFIA will verify compliance and apply enforcement discretion in cases where non-compliant companies have detailed plans showing how they intend to meet the new requirements at the earliest possible time.
Nutrition facts table
The changes to the nutrition facts table include:
• making the serving size more:
• consistent so that it's easier to compare similar foods
• realistic so that it reflects the amount that Canadians typically eat in one sitting
• making the information on serving size and calories easier to find and read by:
• increasing the font size of serving size and calories
• adding a bold line under the calories
• revising the % daily values based on updated science
• adding a new % daily value for total sugars
• updating the list of nutrients to:
• add potassium because:
• it's important for maintaining healthy blood pressure
• most Canadians are not getting enough of this nutrient
• remove vitamin A and vitamin C because:
• most Canadians get enough of these nutrients in their diets
• adding the amounts in milligrams (mg) for potassium, calcium and iron
• adding a footnote at the bottom of the table about % daily value
• this will help consumers understand how much sugar and other nutrients (like sodium) are in their food and will explain that:
• 5% or less is a little
• 15% or more is a lot
Figure 1. Nutrition facts table changes.
Image Description - Nutrition Facts Table Changes - (Figure 1)
List of ingredients
The changes to the list of ingredients include:
• grouping sugars-based ingredients in brackets after the name 'sugars'Footnote*
• this will help consumers identify all of the sources of sugars added to a food
• listing food colours by their individual common names
• making the text in black font on white or neutral background
• creating minimum type height requirements for ingredients
• using bullets or commas to separate ingredients
• using both upper and lower case letters for the ingredients in the list
• the same format rules will apply to any 'contains' statement indicating the presence or potential presence of:
• priority food allergens
• gluten sources
• added sulphites
These changes will make it easier to find, read and understand the list of ingredients.
Footnotes Footnote **Grouping of sugars-based ingredients is not required when the final product contains less than 0.5 grams of sugars per serving. For more information, see the Notice: Change to the requirement for the grouping of sugars-based ingredients in the list ingredients.
Figure 2. List of ingredients.
Image Description - List of Ingredients - (Figure 2)
Shown here is the image of the new look for the list of ingredients. There is a white box outlined by a black rule. All text inside the box is black with the first letter of each ingredient capitalized. A bullet separates each ingredient in the list. There are 3 lines of text that run horizontally within the box.
The first line starts with the word Ingredients, in bold, followed by a colon. This is followed on the same line by Sugars, open parenthesis, fancy molasses, followed by comma, followed by brown sugar, followed by comma, followed by sugar, close parenthesis. The parenthesis is followed by a bullet, followed by Flour, followed by a bullet, followed by Vegetable oil.
The next line starts with shortening followed by a bullet followed by Liquid whole egg, followed by a bullet, followed by Salt, followed by a bullet followed by Sodium bicarbonate, followed by a bullet, followed by Spices, followed by a bullet and Allura red.
The last line in the box starts with the word Contains, in bold, followed by a colon. This is followed on the same line by the word Wheat, followed by a bullet, followed by Egg.
There is text shown around the outside of the box with arrows pointing to the new changes to the list of ingredients.
Above the box there are two arrows pointing to the uppercase S in Sugars and lowercase f in fancy with a note which says, Black font: upper and lower case. There is a third arrow pointing to the sugars ingredients with a note that says: Grouping of sugars-based ingredients.
Outside and to the right of the box is a square bracket with a note which says: Bullets or commas to separate ingredients.
Below the box there is an arrow pointing to white space and a note which says: White or neutral background. Also below the box there is an arrow pointing to the ingredient Allura red with a note which says: Food colours listed by name. Below the box, there is also an arrow pointing to the title "Contains" and a note which says: The titles "Ingredients" and "Contains" in bold type. Outside and to the left of the box is a square bracket with a note which says: Minimum type height requirements.
Serving size
Changes to serving size will better reflect the amount that Canadians eat in one sitting. This is because serving sizes will be based on regulated reference amounts.
Serving sizes will also be more consistent, making it easier to:
compare similar foods
know how many calories and nutrients are being consumed
The changes are different for single serve and multi-serving packages.
Foods in single serving containers
On single serving packages containing up to 200% of the reference amount for that food, the serving size will be the amount in the whole container.
As an example, the reference amount for milk is 250 mL. For containers up to 500 mL (200% of 250 mL), the serving size shown will be the amount of milk in the entire container. As the following figure demonstrates, on a 473 mL carton of milk, the serving size will be shown as 'Per 1 carton (473 mL).'
Figure 3. Foods in single serving containers.
Image Description - Foods in Single Serving Containers - (Figure 3)
Shown here are two images of a 473 mL milk carton, each showing a mock-up of the top portion of a Nutrition Facts table.
In the Nutrition Facts table of the first milk carton image, illustrating the original situation, the serving size is listed as "Per 1 cup, open parenthesis, 250 mL, close parenthesis. In the Nutrition Facts table of the second milk carton image, illustrating the new situation, the serving size is listed as "Per 1 carton, open parenthesis, 473 mL, close parenthesis.
Shown here are two images of a 473 mL milk carton, each showing a mock-up of the top portion of a Nutrition Facts table.
In the Nutrition Facts table of the first milk carton image, illustrating the original situation, the serving size is listed as "Per 1 cup, open parenthesis, 250 mL, close parenthesis. In the Nutrition Facts table of the second milk carton image, illustrating the new situation, the serving size is listed as "Per 1 carton, open parenthesis, 473 mL, close parenthesis.
Foods in multi-serve packages
On multi-serve packages, serving sizes will be in an amount as close as possible to the food's reference amount. For multi-serve packages, serving sizes are based on the type of food, such as:
foods that can be measured
foods that come in pieces or are divided
amounts of foods that are typically eaten
These factors help the food industry make serving sizes more consistent for similar foods.
The following examples show how serving size will appear depending on the type of food product.
Foods that can be measured
For foods that can be measured, like yogurt, the serving size will be shown as a common household measurement, such as:
cup
teaspoon
tablespoon
This will be paired with its metric equivalent in millilitres (mL) or grams (g). Similar products will have the same millilitre or gram amount which will make them easier to compare.
For example, yogurt has a reference amount of 175 g. This amount of yogurt is what you might typically eat at one sitting. So, the serving size on all tubs of yogurt will be based on 175 g. Having a consistent serving size makes it easier for you to compare different tubs of yogurt.
Figure 4. Foods that can be measured.
Image Description - Foods that can be measured - (Figure 4)
Shown here are four images of large tubs of yogurt, each showing a mock-up of the top portion of a Nutrition Facts table.
In the Nutrition Facts tables of the first two yogurt images illustrating the original situation, the serving size of yogurt A is listed as "Per 1, forward slash,3 cup open parenthesis, 100 lowercase g, close parenthesis" and the serving size of yogurt B is listed as "Per 1, forward slash, 2 cup open parenthesis, 125 lowercase g, close parenthesis". A small bowl appears next to yogurt A and a larger bowl appears next to yogurt B. Together, these images show that the serving sizes of yogurts A and B are hard to compare when they are different.
Below this are the Nutrition Facts tables of the second two yogurt images illustrating the situation under the new criteria. The serving sizes of both yogurt A and yogurt B are listed as "Per 3, forward slash, 4 cup open parenthesis, 175 lowercase g, close parenthesis". The same size bowl appears next to both yogurts A and B. Together, these images show that the serving sizes of yogurts A and B are easier to compare when they are the same.
Foods that come in pieces or are divided
For foods that come in pieces like crackers, or are divided into pieces before eating like lasagna, the serving size will be shown as either:
the number of pieces or
as a fraction of the food
This will be paired with its weight in grams. Similar products will have the same or very similar gram amounts.
For example, the serving size on cracker boxes will have to be as close to 20 g as possible. This is because 20 g is the reference amount. While the number of crackers may change from product to product, weights will be very similar. This will make it easier for you to compare different types of crackers.
Figure 5. Foods that come in pieces or are divided.
Image Description - Foods that come in pieces or are divided - (Figure 5)
Amounts of foods that are typically eaten
For certain foods like sliced bread, the serving size will reflect the way they're typically eaten, followed by its weight in grams.
For example, the serving size on a bag of bread will show 2 slices of bread and its weight in grams. This reflects that most people eat 2 slices of bread at one time. This will make it easier for you to compare different types of bread.
Figure 6. Amounts of foods that are typically eaten.
Image Description - Amounts of foods that are typically eaten - (Figure 6)
Shown here are four images of loaves of bread, each showing a mock-up of the top portion of a Nutrition Facts table.
In the Nutrition Facts tables of the first two images of loaves of bread illustrating the original situation, the serving size of bread A is listed as "Per 1 slice open parenthesis, 45 lowercase g, close parenthesis" and the serving size of bread B is listed as "Per 2 slices open parenthesis, 76 lowercase g, close parenthesis". One thick slice appears below bread A and two thin slices appear below bread B. Together, these images show that the serving sizes of breads A and B are hard to compare when they are based on a different number of slices.
Below this are the Nutrition Facts tables of the second two images of loaves of bread illustrating the situation under the new criteria, the serving size of bread A is listed as "Per 2 slices open parenthesis, 90 lowercase g, close parenthesis" and the serving size of bread B is listed as "Per 2 slices open parenthesis, 76 lowercase g, close parenthesis". Two thick slices appears below bread A and two thin slices appear below bread B. Together, these images show that the serving sizes of breads A and B are easier to compare when they are based on the same number of slices.
Sugars information
The changes to sugars include those in the:
nutrition facts table
list of ingredients
Nutrition facts table
A % daily value has been included for total sugars to help you:
compare the sugars content of different foods
identify sugary foods that should be limited, such as those with a sugars daily value of 15% or more
Figure 7. Sugars information.
Image Description - Sugars Information - (Figure 7)
Shown here are two images of the Nutrition Facts table. The one on the left is the original Nutrition Facts table. The one on the right is the new Nutrition Facts table. There is explanatory text outside of the new Nutrition Facts table table, on the right side, with arrows pointing to the new changes to sugars information within the table.
Following is a description of the original Nutrition Facts table. Left justified at the top of the table is the heading Nutrition Facts and stacked below it is the heading Valeur nutritive. Both are in bold. The next line is Per 250 mL, forward slash, par 250 mL. There is a thick rule below the serving size information that spans the width of the table.
Left justified on the next line is the subheading Amount, in bold and right justified on the same line is the subheading percent symbol Daily Value, in bold. Stacked directly below the subheading "Amount" is Teneur, in bold. Right justified on the same line is percent symbol valeur quotidienne also in bold. There is a thick rule below the subheadings that spans the width of the table. Note: this rule is not as thick as the one below the serving size information.
The next line is Calories, forward slash, Calories, in bold, followed by 110. There is a thin rule under the Calories information that spans the width of the table. Left justified on the next line is Fat, forward slash, Lipides, in bold, followed by 0 and a lowercase g. Right justified on the same line is the number zero followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule below the fat information that spans the width of the table.
Indented on the next line is Saturated, forward slash, saturés followed by 0 and a lower case g. Indented on the next line is a plus symbol followed by Trans, forward slash, trans followed by 0 and a lowercase g. Right justified and vertically centered against the saturated and trans information on the left is 0 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule below the trans information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Cholesterol, forward slash, Cholestérol, in bold, followed by 0 and mg in lowercase. There is a thin rule under the cholesterol information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Sodium, forward slash, Sodium in bold followed by 0 and mg in lowercase. Right justified on the same line is 0 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the sodium information that spans the width of the table. The next line is Carbohydrate, forward slash, Glucides, in bold, followed by 26 and a lowercase g. Right justified on the same line is 9 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the carbohydrate information that spans the width of the table.
Indented on the next line is Fibre, forward slash, Fibres, followed by 0 and a lowercase g. Right justified on the same line is 0 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the fibre information that spans the width of the table. Indented on the next line is Sugars, forward slash, Sucres, followed by 22 and a lowercase g. There is a thin rule under the sugars information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Protein, forward slash, Protéines, in bold, followed by 2 and a lowercase g. There is a thick rule under the protein information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Vitamin A, forward slash, Vitamine A. Right justified on the same line is 0 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the vitamin A information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Vitamin C, forward slash, Vitamine C. Right justified on the same line is 120 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the vitamin C information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Calcium, forward slash, Calcium. Right justified on the same line is 2 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the calcium information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Iron, forward slash, Fer. Right justified on the same line is 0 followed by a percent symbol. This is the end of the original Nutrition Facts table description.
Next is a description of the new Nutrition Facts table, which is pictured beside the original Nutrition Facts table.
Left justified at the top of the table is the heading Nutrition Facts and stacked below it is the heading Valeur nutritive. Both are in bold. The next line is Per 1 cup open parenthesis 250 mL close parenthesis. The next line is pour 1 tasse open parenthesis 250 mL close parenthesis. There is a thin rule below pour 1 tasse open parenthesis 250 mL close parenthesis that spans the width of the table. The next line is Calories in bold followed by 110, also in bold. Right justified on the same line is the subheading percent symbol Daily Value in bold. Stacked under this is percent symbol valeur quotidienne also in bold. Both Percent Daily Value and percent valeur quotidienne are followed by an asterisk that refers to a footnote at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts table. There is a thick rule under the Calories information that ends after the number 110. It does not span the width of the table.
Left justified on the next line is Fat, forward slash, Lipides, in bold, followed by 0 and a lowercase g. Right justified on the same line is the number zero followed by a percent symbol. Indented on the next line is Saturated, forward slash, saturés followed by 0 and a lower case g. Indented on the next line is a plus symbol followed by Trans, forward slash, trans followed by 0 and a lowercase g. Right justified and vertically centered against the saturated and trans information on the left is 0 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule below the trans information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Carbohydrate, forward slash, Glucides, in bold, followed by 26 and a lowercase g. Indented on the next line is Fibre, forward slash, Fibres, followed by 0 and a lowercase g. Right justified on the same line is a placeholder for percent Daily Value of Fibre followed by 0 and a percent symbol. Indented on the next line is Sugars, forward slash, Sucres, followed by 22 and a lowercase g. Right justified on the same line is the number 22 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the sugars information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Protein, forward slash, Protéines, in bold, followed by 2 and a lowercase g. There is a thin rule under the protein information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Cholesterol, forward slash, Cholestérol, in bold, followed by 0 and mg in lowercase. There is a thin rule under the cholesterol information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Sodium, in bold, followed by 0 and mg in lowercase. Right justified on the same line is 0 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thick rule under the sodium information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Potassium followed by 450 and mg in lowercase. Right justified on the same line is 10 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule under the potassium information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Calcium followed by 30 and mg in lowercase. Right justified on the same line is 2 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thin rule below the calcium information that spans the width of the table.
The next line is Iron, forward slash, Fer followed by 0 and mg in lowercase. Right justified on the same line is 0 followed by a percent symbol. There is a thick rule under the iron information that spans the width of the Nutrition Facts table. The next two lines is the percent Daily Value footnote that was referred to at the beginning of the table description. The footnote starts with an asterisk followed by the statement: 5 percent symbol or less is a little,15 percent symbol or more is a lot and on the second line is an asterisk followed by the statement: 5 percent symbol ou moins c'est peu, 15 percent symbol ou plus c'est beaucoup. The terms 'a little', 'a lot', 'peu', and 'beaucoup' are in bold. This is the end of the new Nutrition Facts table.
There is text shown outside of the table to the right. First, there is an arrow pointing to the sugars line which is circled within the table. The text reads: New percent symbol Daily Value for total sugars. At the bottom right, there is an arrow pointing to the percent Daily Value footnote which is circled within the table. The text reads: New footnote to help interpret the percent symbol Daily Value. This is the end of the new Nutrition Facts table description.
The following table provides examples of the sugars % daily value for some common food items.
Less than 15% daily value of sugars More than 15% daily value of sugars Milk (13%) Chocolate milk (26%) Plain yogurt (12%) Flavoured yogurt (31%) Canned fruit in water (10%) Canned fruit in light syrup (21%) Unsweetened frozen fruit (6%) Fruit juice (25%) Unsweetened oat cereal (1%) Frosted oat cereal (18%) Mineral water (0%) Soft drink (39%)
List of ingredients
Sugars-based ingredients have been grouped in brackets in descending order by weight after the name 'sugars' to help you:
see that sugars have been added to the food
quickly find the sources of sugars added to your food
understand how much sugars are added to the food compared to other ingredients
Sugars can include:
white sugar, beet sugar, raw sugar or brown sugar
agave syrup, honey, maple syrup, barley malt extract or fancy molasses
fructose, glucose, glucose-fructose (also known as high fructose corn syrup), maltose, sucrose or dextrose
fruit juice concentrates and purée concentrates that are added to replace sugars in foods
In the following example, there's more:
fancy molasses by weight than brown sugar or sugar
sugars in the food by weight than any other ingredient
Figure 8. List of ingredients: sugars.
Image Description - List of Ingredients - Sugars - (Figure 8)
There are two ingredient lists shown in the image. On the left is an example of the original list of ingredients. On the right is the new format for the list of ingredients. The sugars sources are circled in red in each list.
The ingredient list on the left is contained within a grey box outlined by a black rule. All of the text within the box is black and in capital letters. A comma separates each ingredient in the list. There are 4 lines of text that run horizontally within the box.
The first line starts with the word ingredients, followed by a colon. This is followed on the same line by the words flour, followed by comma, followed by fancy molasses, followed by comma, followed by vegetable oil. The next line starts with the word shortening followed by comma, followed by brown sugar, followed by comma followed by liquid whole egg, followed by comma, followed by sugar. The next line starts with the word salt, followed by a comma, followed by sodium bicarbonate, followed by comma, followed by spices, followed by comma, followed by colour.
The last line in the box starts with the word Contains, followed by a colon, followed by the word wheat, followed by comma, followed by egg.
The terms fancy molasses, brown sugar, and sugar are circled in red in this list of ingredients.
The ingredient list on the right is contained within a white box outlined by a black rule. All text inside the box is black with the first letter of each ingredient capitalized. A bullet separates each ingredient in the list. There are 3 lines of text that runs horizontally within the box. The first line starts with the word Ingredients, in bold, followed by a colon. This is followed on the same line by Sugars, open parentheses, fancy molasses followed by comma, followed by brown sugar, followed by comma, followed by sugar, close parentheses. The parenthesis is followed by a bullet, followed by Flour, followed by a bullet, followed by Vegetable oil.
The next line starts with shortening followed by a bullet, followed by Liquid whole egg, followed by a bullet, followed by Salt, followed by a bullet, followed by Sodium bicarbonate, followed by a bullet, followed by Spices, followed by a bullet, followed by Allura red. The last line in the box starts with the word Contains, in bold, followed by a colon. This is followed on the same line by the word Wheat, followed by a bullet, followed by Egg. The "sugars, open parentheses, fancy molasses, followed by comma, followed by brown sugar, followed by comma, followed by sugar, close parentheses" text is circled in red.
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