As part of continuous improvement, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is always looking for ways to support industry compliance with federal requirements. In line with this goal, the CFIA introduced a web-based Industry Labelling Tool in 2014 and has been delivering information sessions to industry groups to help them become familiar with this resource.
The Industry Labelling Tool provides clear guidance on the federal labelling rules that apply across the food sector and a self-assessment checklist to assist industry in complying with federal food labelling requirements. It is regularly updated with the latest information and users can sign up for email updates to learn about changes as they are posted.
With this tool in place, the CFIA voluntary pre-market label review service will be discontinued effective April 1, 2015. Although not required under federal regulations, this review service has been provided to industry upon request. Going forward, industry can check the labelling requirements that apply to them through the web-based Industry Labelling Tool and follow up questions can be sent to local CFIA offices.
This change does not affect food safety or consumer protection. The CFIA will continue to verify label compliance through ongoing activities such as complaint investigations, facility inspections, retail-level inspections and laboratory testing.
For more information, contact CFIA-Modernisation-ACIA@inspection.gc.ca.