Canada Nutrition Facts Table: CFIA Bilingual Guide
Learn Canada Nutrition Facts table rules, bilingual English-French labeling, CFIA requirements, serving sizes and the 2026 front-of-package symbol.
Selling packaged food in Canada requires a Canada Nutrition Facts table in the format prescribed by the Food and Drug Regulations, bilingual English-French labeling for essentially all mandatory information, and, as of the January 1, 2026 compliance deadline, a front-of-package nutrition symbol on products high in saturated fat, sugars, or sodium.
A US Nutrition Facts panel satisfies none of these Canadian requirements. Here is what the CFIA and Health Canada actually require for packaged food sold in Canada.
Canada Nutrition Facts table and CFIA bilingual labelling requirements
Under the Food and Drug Regulations and consumer packaging law, mandatory label information must appear in both English and French.
For the Canada Nutrition Facts table (NFT), this requirement is handled through prescribed bilingual formats. You can use either a single table in which each line appears in both languages, such as "Fat / Lipides" and "Sodium / Sodium," or separate English and French tables.
The terminology is standardized. You must use Health Canada's prescribed bilingual nomenclature rather than creating your own French translations.
Quebec's provincial language rules add further requirements for information elsewhere on the package. As a practical result, most national brands design their packaging to be fully bilingual rather than treating the Nutrition Facts table as the only bilingual element.
The 2016 Canada Nutrition Facts table overhaul
Canada modernized its Nutrition Facts table in December 2016 through SOR/2016-305, with the industry transition completed in the early 2020s.
Several changes deliberately parallel the FDA's 2016 Nutrition Facts update, but a Canadian NFT and a US Nutrition Facts panel are not interchangeable:
- Calories now appear in large bold type with a rule beneath.
- Serving sizes were standardized using reference amounts so consumers can more easily compare competing products.
- Potassium became mandatory, while vitamins A and C were removed from the required list.
- A %DV for total sugars was introduced using a 100 g reference. The US label does not use a %DV for total sugars and instead applies %DV to added sugars.
- The footnote "5% or less is a little, 15% or more is a lot" was added. Canada's upper consumer-guidance threshold is 15%, not the FDA's 20%.
These differences mean that changing the language on a US panel is not enough to produce a compliant Canadian label. The underlying Daily Values, required nutrients, serving-size rules and format also have to follow Canadian requirements.
US label vs Canada Nutrition Facts table
| Feature | United States | Canada |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Nutrition Facts | Nutrition Facts / Valeur nutritive |
| Languages | English (others optional) | English and French mandatory |
| Sugars %DV | Added sugars, 50 g reference | Total sugars, 100 g reference |
| "A lot" threshold | 20% DV | 15% DV |
| Front-of-pack warning | None | Magnifying-glass symbol from 2026 |
Bilingual nutrition label Canada requirements
A bilingual nutrition label in Canada is not simply an English Nutrition Facts table with French text added wherever it fits. The table has prescribed terminology and formats that control how the two languages appear.
Mandatory information must be presented in English and French, and the NFT can use either a prescribed combined bilingual format or separate English and French tables.
That distinction matters when planning package artwork. A combined bilingual table can reduce duplication, while separate tables require enough available label space for both complete versions. In either case, you must work within the permitted Canadian NFT formats rather than shrinking or restructuring the table yourself.
The bilingual requirement also extends beyond the Nutrition Facts table to essentially all mandatory label information. Quebec's additional provincial language requirements are another reason national packaging is commonly designed as fully bilingual from the start.
The 2026 front-of-package nutrition symbol
Health Canada's 2022 regulations, SOR/2022-168, require a black-and-white magnifying-glass symbol on the principal display panel of most prepackaged foods that meet or exceed specified thresholds for saturated fat, sugars or sodium.
The thresholds are generally 15% of the Daily Value per reference amount or serving, with a 30% threshold for main-dish products of 200 g or more.
The symbol identifies the nutrients that trigger it in both languages, using wording such as "High in / Élevé en sodium," and it must comply with prescribed size and placement requirements.
The compliance deadline was January 1, 2026, so labels being produced now should already account for the requirement.
Not every product requires the symbol. Exemptions exist for certain foods, including examples such as plain fruits and vegetables, some dairy products contributing key nutrients, and very small packages.
Serving sizes, permitted formats and CFIA labelling requirements
Canadian serving sizes are anchored to regulated reference amounts and expressed using household measures with a metric equivalent. The principle resembles the US RACC system, but Canada uses its own reference amounts.
The Food and Drug Regulations also prescribe a directory of permitted Nutrition Facts table formats. These include standard, narrow, bilingual aggregate, simplified and other formats designed for different labeling situations.
You must select the appropriate permitted format for your package size. You cannot take the standard table and arbitrarily shrink it until it fits the available space.
Enforcement sits with the CFIA. The agency checks declared nutrient values against laboratory analysis using defined compliance tolerances, and labeling problems involving imported foods can surface at the border.
That means compliance depends on more than getting the visual format right. The recipe and nutrient data behind the Canada Nutrition Facts table also need to support the values being declared.
Practical workflow for US exporters to Canada
If you sell the same product in the United States and Canada, keep one master recipe but render separate labels for each market.
Canadian Daily Values differ from US Daily Values for several nutrients, and Canadian serving sizes follow Canadian reference amounts. The declaration basis also differs from the EU's per-100 g approach, covered in per-100 g vs per-serving.
A practical workflow is:
- Build and maintain the formulation once in recipe management.
- Apply the serving-size and Daily Value rules for the destination market.
- Generate the US Nutrition Facts panel separately.
- Generate the Canadian bilingual Nutrition Facts table using Canadian terminology and formatting.
- Check whether the Canadian product triggers the 2026 front-of-package symbol.
- Render any additional market formats from the same underlying recipe data.
The coverage page lists all supported jurisdictions. Our Spanish bilingual guide covers the equivalent US-side bilingual labeling question.
Canada Nutrition Facts table frequently asked questions
Can I sell my US-labeled product in Canada as-is?
No. A US Nutrition Facts panel does not satisfy Canadian requirements because it lacks the required French information and follows different Daily Values, serving-size rules and formatting requirements. You need a compliant bilingual Canadian Nutrition Facts table and, where the applicable nutrient thresholds are met, the required front-of-package nutrition symbol.
Does the Canada Nutrition Facts table have to be bilingual?
Yes. Mandatory label information generally has to appear in both English and French. For the Nutrition Facts table, you can use a prescribed bilingual table containing both languages or separate English and French tables. The terminology is standardized, so use Health Canada's prescribed bilingual nomenclature rather than translating nutrient names yourself.
Are any products exempt from the Nutrition Facts table?
Yes, but the exemptions are limited. Examples include fresh produce, raw single-ingredient meats, and foods sold only at the establishment where they are prepared. An exemption can be lost when certain claims are made or when the applicable CFIA conditions are not met, so exemption status needs to be checked against the specific product and labeling.
Does every Canadian product need the front-of-package magnifying-glass symbol?
No. The symbol applies to products that meet the applicable saturated fat, sugars or sodium thresholds. Check your per-serving values against the general 15% DV trigger, or the 30% threshold for larger main dishes. Certain products are also exempt from the front-of-package requirement.
Can I use the same nutrition data for US and Canadian labels?
You can maintain one master recipe, but you cannot simply reproduce the same finished label. Canadian Daily Values differ from US values for several nutrients, Canadian serving sizes follow Canadian reference amounts, and the Canadian NFT has its own prescribed format and bilingual terminology. The same underlying formulation therefore needs to be rendered according to each market's rules.
Generate a compliant bilingual Canadian NFT, complete with 2026 front-of-package logic, free in the NFL label generator.
