Government of Canada consults with Canadians on important changes to Canada’s food labelling system

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian Food Inspection Agency - Canadians rely on food labels to make informed decisions on what they buy and eat. As the Government of Canada moves to provide consumers with more useful information and support innovation by food businesses, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, today announced that the Government is consulting with Canadians on proposed changes to food labels in Canada.

 

The proposed changes to labelling requirements in the Food and Drug Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations were pre-published today in the Canada Gazette, Part I, and are available for consultation. Consumers, industry, and other stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments on the proposed changes by September 4, 2019.

 

The proposed changes would make information on food labels clearer. They would improve consumers’ ability to compare products, read and understand labels, and obtain useful product information, such as where imported food comes from, what the food contains, and how long the quality of the food will last.

 

The changes would also amend outdated and unnecessary regulations and provide Canada’s food industry with some flexibility in how the regulations apply to certain requirements. This is necessary in an evolving food environment and helps promote innovation and facilitate market access for Canadian food businesses. The changes better align Canada’s labelling requirements with international standards, as well as the requirements of key trading partners, which would facilitate trade for Canada’s food industry.

 

To ensure industry is given adequate time to make any labelling changes, a phased-in transition period is proposed to reflect industry readiness and align with other Government of Canada labelling initiatives.

 

The proposed changes are based on extensive stakeholder consultations. Consumers, industry, and other stakeholders were integral in helping the Government reach this point.

 

The proposed regulatory changes are another example of the Government of Canada’s commitment to regulatory reform focussed on supporting innovation under Budget 2018 and the 2018 Fall Economic Statement.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.