Are Your Labels Compliant?

By Daphne Nuys-Hall, Technical Director, Meat & Poultry Ontario

Labels are an essential component of selling prepackaged meat products.

It tells the consumer who you are, what products you are selling and why they should buy your products above all others in the meat counter. However, inaccurate, misleading or incomplete labels could negatively affect your consumer’s perception of your product or could be in violation of one or more labelling regulations which could lead to an immediate audit failure or potentially a product recall.

Finding the answer you need when it comes to labelling your pre-packaged meat products can be challenging and onerous considering companies must adhere to requirements under several pieces of legislation including the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) and Regulations (FDR), the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) and Regulations, and Ontario Meat Regulation 31/05 for provincially licensed meat plants.

This article will help you navigate the regulatory landscape to find the answers to your most frequently asked labelling questions.

The Food and Drugs Act and Regulations

The Food and Drugs Act and Regulations (FDA and FDR) provide the regulatory framework for the manufacture and labelling of all foods in Canada, whether federally, provincially, or municipally manufactured. Specifically, the FDR is where food manufacturers will find the requirements for general, allergen, and nutrition labelling (including the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT)), and health claims for foods. The FDR also includes several standards for foods, including meat, which prescribe additional labelling and packaging requirements such as for mechanically tenderized beef.

It is important to note that Health Canada published amendments to the nutrition labelling requirements in December 2016 with a five (5) year transition period, ending December 2021. 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. The key changes relate to the format of the nutrition facts panel to make the information more relevant, consistent, and easier to read and are reflected in the diagram below.

One often asked question is “when is it required to have the nutrition facts panel?”. Nutrition facts tables are required on prepackaged products with more than one ingredient, those that make any health or nutrition claims and on all ground meat products.

Along with the changes to the NFT, Health Canada made amendments to the requirements for the list of ingredients that must be implemented at the same time as the NFT. The changes to the list of ingredients include grouping sugars-based ingredients in brackets after the name ‘sugars, 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 and using both upper- and lower-case letters for the ingredients in the list.

These changes will make it easier to find, read and understand the list of ingredients.

‘Undeclared allergens’ remains the number one reason for a product recall in Canada. Ensuring that your labels are accurate, truthful and identify any and all of the 10 priority allergens that may be present in your products is of the utmost importance. As part of your business’ allergen control plan, you should develop procedures to review ingredient listing on labels at least annually or when changes are made to product formulations. Mistakes with allergen labelling are not just costly for your business but also to the allergenic consumer.

The Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) set out the requirements for all foods that are imported, exported, and inter-provincially traded, however there are some traceability, labelling and advertising provisions also apply to intra-provincially traded foods. Requirements of standards of identity and grades have been included in documents incorporated by reference.

Part 11 of the regulations combines the food labelling requirements for the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and the Meat Inspection Act. The labelling requirements under the Food and Drugs Act and regulations will continue to apply. There are four divisions with Part 11 which include General Labelling Information, Requirements Applicable to Prepackaged Food, Specific Requirements for Certain Foods and Exceptions

Ontario Meat Regulation 31/05

Ontario Meat Regulation 31/05 applies to provincially licensed meat plants. The labelling provisions in the regulations speak specifically to the conditions of use of the inspection legend, including design and application. It also includes requirements for the name of product and storage instructions where required. In accordance with Ontario Meat Regulation 31/05, the inspection legend cannot be applied to anything other than a meat product. This includes fruits and vegetables, dairy products, pet food, and any other grocery item.

It is important to note that regardless of your level of inspection, the labelling laws of Canada, starting with the Food and Drugs Regulations, apply to your prepackaged meat products. It is your responsibility to ensure that your products are labelled in a truthful and accurate manner in compliance with all the applicable regulations. Meat & Poultry Ontario is here to help. We have several resources available to help ensure your labels are compliant in the marketplace including our Nutrition Labelling Service and Label Review document. Contact MPO Technical Director at technical@MeatPoultryOn.ca for more information.