Federal

Federal food labels

Prepackaged food needs a common name, net quantity, ingredients and allergens, your name and a physical address (a website doesn’t count), a best-before date if it keeps 90 days or less, a lot code or other identifier that tells batches apart, a Nutrition Facts table, a front-of-pack “High in” symbol if it is high in saturated fat, sugars or sodium, and English and French — English-only is allowed for food sold only in the municipality where it’s made and its neighbours. Selling only at markets yourself removes the Nutrition Facts table and the front-of-pack symbol, unless the label makes a nutrition claim. There is no exemption for online sales, and a product may not be advertised online without a proper label.

A change is coming

  • New names for milk ingredients on labels — takes effect 1 January 2030. What changes
Who issues it
CFIA and Health Canada rules
Forms and pages

Which businesses need it

BakeriesA commercial bakery, with or without a counter.Home-based food makersBaking or making food in your own kitchen to sell.Packaged food makersMaking sauces, preserves, snacks, frozen meals or other packaged food to sell.Kombucha, juice & coffee makersMaking non-alcoholic drinks, or roasting coffee.Butchers, delis & fishmongersCutting and selling meat, fish or deli foods.Meat, poultry & egg producersRaising animals for meat, or hens for eggs.Fishers & seafood sellersCommercial fishers selling their catch. (Shellfish farms follow separate aquaculture rules this page doesn’t cover.)BeekeepersSelling honey and other bee products.Farmers’ market vendorsSelling at farmers’ markets, Christmas markets and craft fairs.

The rules behind this page

Last checked 9 October 2026. We check this guide regularly against Island Health, provincial and municipal sources, but regulations and laws change often and we can’t guarantee it is complete or current. Confirm with Island Health and your municipality before you apply, build or sell.

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