From Jan. 1, 2026, all food labels must fully comply with the front-of-package (FOP) labelling requirements. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) will monitor compliance with the requirement.
On July 20, 2022, Health Canada published amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations to include FOP labelling requirements. The regulations prescribe new labelling requirements in the form of a front-of-package nutrition symbol for prepackaged products deemed high in saturated fats, sugars and/or sodium.
A 3.5-year transition period ended Dec. 31, 2025. Information presented in accordance with the former requirements will no longer be compliant. However, products that were imported, manufactured in Canada, or packaged at retail before that date can still be sold and remain on store shelves.
CFIA will follow the Standard Regulatory Response Process to deal with non-compliance issues.
As a reminder, the Industry Labelling Tool is the primary resource for all food labelling questions, including those related to the FOP requirements. Additionally, Health Canada has published the front-of-package nutrition symbol labelling guide for industry to explain the requirements to external stakeholders.
Health Canada will continue to respond to enquiries on the FOP labelling requirements and their intent until June 30, 2026. These enquiries can be sent to nut.labelling-etiquetage@hc-sc.gc.ca. CFIA will address enquiries related to compliance and enforcement. These can be submitted to a CFIA local office.
