More people than ever are interested in sourcing Canadian-grown foods these days. We can be grateful for a globally-integrated food system that allows access to all types of different ingredients throughout the year, but it can sometimes be difficult to know where certain foods are grown and made. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is the national body that maintains the rules for labels on food products in our country.
One tool that is helpful is Canadian Food Focus’ What’s in Season chart, which provides a whole list of fruits and vegetables that are grown in Canada. Are plums grown in Canada? What about garlic? Have you heard of haskap berries? Each entry on the chart offers information about different varieties, what to look for when buying, how to store, preparation tips and facts about how and where in Canada it was grown. Find out more: canadianfoodfocus.org/whats-in-season/
Foods with several ingredients are a bit more complicated when it comes to labelling. Companies can make statements about the origin of foods or ingredients in the food as long as the claims are truthful and not misleading. You can’t claim a product is from another country if it only includes a small amount of ingredients from that country. Some prepackaged goods from other countries must include the country where they originate because of the type of product. This includes dairy products, wine, honey, meat, maple, among other. See the full list here.
Prepackaged foods in Canada must include the name and address of the company responsible for the product (ie, the importer or manufacturer). If the product was manufactured in Canada, it will show the name and address of the Canadian company. If the product is made entirely outside Canada, it will either show the name and address of the foreign manufacturer or it will say “imported” and show the Canadian company that imported it.
It is voluntary for a Canadian company to include a label of “Product of Canada” or “Made in Canada” on their product here in Canada. Those two phrases do not mean the same thing. “Product of Canada” means that basically all the main ingredients, processing, and labour used to make the food product are Canadian and non-Canadian material is negligible.
“Made in Canada” means that last substantial transformation of the product occurred in Canada, even if some ingredients are from other countries. For example, taking dough, cheese and sauce and making it into pizza transforms those individual ingredients into something new (pizza) and “Made in Canada” tells you where that processing took place.
Sometimes companies add qualifying statements like “Made in Canada from imported ingredients” or “Made in Canada from domestic and imported ingredients”. Get the full details from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Many categories of foods in Canada include brand labels to help consumer recognize Canadian products at a glance. Several of these are linked to assurance programs that farmers need to follow to meet quality, food safety and environmental standards. These include:
‘Blue Cow’ label on Canadian dairy products: represents products made with 100% Canadian milk and milk ingredients.
‘Raised by a Canadian Farmer’ red chicken: shows chicken that is 100% Canadian raised and meets the highest standards for food safety, animal care, and sustainability.
Verified Canadian Pork logo: is the national brand that represents pork made in Canada. It is built on a foundation of on-farm food safety, responsible animal care and mandatory traceability.
The ‘beef with the leaf’ logo indicates Canadian-raised beef. Some provinces also have their own logos signifying its origin to be Canadian. If you see a Canada quality grade symbol, a designation of ‘Canada Prime, Canada AA or Canada AAA’, this is a quality designation that also signifies Canadian-raised. More info
The EQA logo indicates eggs that are sourced from Canada and that meet national food safety and animal care requirements.
The “Choose Canadian Seafood” label makes it simple for consumers to identify Canadian seafood products.
Getting groceries can be confusing, but it is a mark of how lucky we are in Canada to have so much choice on our shelves!
