The Food Label Checklist

Every food pack sold in Canada has two jobs. It has to earn the pick-up on a crowded shelf, and it has to carry a set of mandatory information in a set way. Most packaging projects treat these as separate problems. The design chases the first, and the regulated copy gets squeezed into whatever space is left at proof stage, usually in the week the printer needs files.

This Field Note flips the order. It walks through the federal labelling rules that shape a food label, panel by panel, as design decisions to make before the first sketch. It ends with a checklist to bring to the kickoff meeting.

This is a planning checklist, not legal advice. Rules change and some categories have their own requirements. Confirm the details for your product with the CFIA before you go to print.

Part 01: Start with the canvas

The regulations decide how much of your pack is actually yours to design. Before choosing a colour or a typeface, measure the principal display surface: the part of the package a shopper sees first on shelf. Its area sets the minimum height of your net quantity numerals and the size of the front-of-package nutrition symbol, if your product needs one. On a small pack, those two elements can take a real share of the front panel.

Then map the rest. The ingredient list, the Nutrition Facts table, the dealer name and address, and any date and storage copy all need room, in two languages, at legible sizes. Sketch those blocks at true size on the dieline first. Whatever is left is the space the brand gets to work with.

Part 02: The principal display panel

Two things must always be on the front, and a third often is.

Common name

The common name tells a shopper what the product is, in plain words, such as "smoked beef jerky" or "granola". It must sit on the principal display panel. A brand name or a clever product name does not replace it. Design them together, so the product name leads and the common name reads clearly beneath it. See the CFIA common name guidance.

Net quantity

The net quantity goes on the principal display panel in metric units: grams or kilograms for most solids, millilitres or litres for most liquids. Use the symbols g, kg, mL and L exactly, with a space between number and unit. The numerals must be bold, and their minimum height rises with the size of the principal display surface:

• Up to 32 cm²: 1.6 mm
• Over 32 to 258 cm²: 3.2 mm
• Over 258 to 645 cm²: 6.4 mm
• Over 645 to 2,580 cm²: 9.5 mm
• Over 2,580 cm²: 12.7 mm

Metric symbols count as bilingual, so one declaration covers both languages. Details are in the CFIA net quantity guidance.

The front-of-package nutrition symbol

Since January 1, 2026, prepackaged foods at or above set levels of saturated fat, sugars or sodium must carry Health Canada's "High in" nutrition symbol, and the CFIA has said there is no more enforcement flexibility. For most foods the trigger is 15% of the daily value per serving, with different thresholds for small servings and for main dishes. Some foods are exempt, including plain milk, cheese, butter, honey, maple syrup and single-ingredient raw meats.

The symbol lives on the principal display panel, generally in the upper half of the label, or the right half when the label is wider than it is tall. Its size is set by the package size. If your product qualifies, place it on the first sketch, not the final proof. Moving it later usually means moving the logo. Start with Health Canada's front-of-package overview and the CFIA symbol requirements.

Part 03: The information panel

Ingredients and allergens

The ingredient list has a prescribed format, and it is stricter than most designers expect:

• A plain sans serif font in regular weight, at least 1.1 mm high, with at least 2.5 mm leading
• Black type, or its visual equivalent, on a white or neutral background with no more than a 5% tint
• A solid border or contrasting background that sets the list apart
• Ingredients separated by bullets or commas, with only the first letter of each entry capitalized
• Bold titles for "Ingredients" and "Contains", with the Contains statement directly after the list
• Sugars-based ingredients grouped after the word "Sugars", in descending order by weight

Priority allergens, gluten sources and added sulphites at 10 ppm or more must be declared by their prescribed names. The list cannot sit on the bottom of the pack. The CFIA ingredients and allergens guidance has the full rules and examples.

The Nutrition Facts table

Most prepackaged foods need a Nutrition Facts table, and it must sit on one continuous surface of the pack. It cannot be split across panels. Choose the table format early, because the standard, horizontal, linear and bilingual versions take very different shapes. No language other than English and French may appear inside it. See Health Canada on Nutrition Facts tables.

Dealer name and address

The name and principal place of business of the company responsible for the food must appear somewhere other than the bottom of the pack. It can be in English or French. See the CFIA guidance.

Best before date and storage

Foods with a durable life of 90 days or less need a best before date, with the words "Best before" and "Meilleur avant" grouped with the date. Months must appear in both languages or as the bilingual abbreviations JA, FE, MR, AL, MA, JN, JL, AU, SE, OC, NO, DE. If the food needs storage other than room temperature, add bilingual instructions such as "Keep refrigerated / Garder réfrigéré". Leave a clear area for the date, since it is often printed or stamped at packing. See the CFIA date marking guidance.

Some foods also need a country of origin statement, including many imports. Check the CFIA country of origin guidance for your category.

Part 04: Two languages, one layout

Mandatory information on consumer packs must appear in both English and French. The two versions must each meet the minimum type height, but they do not need to be the same size. They can be grouped by language on one panel, alternated, or split across panels of equal prominence. Brand names and registered trademarks can stay in one language. Voluntary claims such as nutrient content claims, health claims and organic claims must be bilingual too.

Design for the longer language. French copy typically runs longer than English, so a layout built around the English text alone usually breaks at translation. Products sold in Quebec also face provincial French-language rules. See the CFIA bilingual labelling guidance.

Part 05: Type that passes

Unless a rule says otherwise, mandatory information must be at least 1.6 mm high, measured on a lowercase "o" or on a capital where text is all caps. Very small packs, with a principal display surface of 10 cm² or less, can use 0.8 mm for some information if it all sits on the front. Mandatory text must also be clearly legible, so hairline weights, low-contrast colour and busy patterns behind regulated copy are false economies. The CFIA legibility and location guidance covers the detail.

Part 06: The kickoff checklist

1. Measure the principal display surface of every format and size you plan to sell.
2. Confirm whether the product needs the front-of-package nutrition symbol, and reserve its space.
3. Set the net quantity size for each format from the area table above.
4. Write the common name before the product name is finalized.
5. Collect the final ingredient list, allergens and nutrient values from the recipe owner.
6. Choose a Nutrition Facts table format that fits one continuous panel.
7. Draft English and French copy, and size the layout for the longer version.
8. Leave a clear area for the best before date and the barcode.
9. Check whether your category or province adds its own rules.
10. Have the regulated copy checked before artwork is approved, not after.

What this means for the brand

None of this has to make a pack look like a compliance form. The best food packaging treats the regulated panel as part of the design system: a consistent grid, a typographic hierarchy that holds in both languages, and a back panel that carries the brand voice in the space the rules leave free. Plan the regulated copy first and the shelf-facing design gets better, because it is designed for the space it actually has.

Read next

• Field Note No. 01: The Craft Beverage Label Guide
• Field Note No. 04: The 30-Second Shelf Test
• Brand and Packaging Design for Craft Beverage and CPG
• Packaging That Earns Its Shelf Space