Imagine the following scenario:
Your team has spent the past month working on a Canadian package redesign for NoodleDoodle Inc. The day before your design is due to prepress, you find out that it is non-compliant with Canadian labelling regulations! It turns out that reducing the ingredient list to 2pt type (in order to make space for an anthropomorphic noodle riding a motorcycle powered by rainbows) has made the ingredient list too small. Also, your unwavering belief in printing NoodleDoodle’s mission statement across the front panel has rgeshed the net weight statement off the PDP. What else? Remember that product shot you insisted on blowing up? It turns out that this photo no longer accurately reflects the contents of the container and will now require a photo disclaimer statement: “enlarged for texture”. Net Weight? PDP? Disclaimer? What the heck does this all mean? More importantly, what do I do now and how do I avoid these problems in the future?
Welcome to the wonderful world of Canadian labelling regulations.
In theory, the governing principles behind labelling regulations are simple: protect the consumer by ensuring that retail packaging contains consistent, accurate, and legible information. In reality, the wide variety of retail products that require packaging information has bred multiple, sometimes overlapping, regulatory acts developed by government bodies on the federal, provincial, and industry/category specific level.
When your goal is to design beautiful, impactful packaging for the retail shelf, the last thing you want is to compromise your creative vision in order to meet regulatory requirements. Starting your design process from a foundation of regulatory compliance can minimize costly revisions so that your vision makes it to market intact. A basic understanding of labelling regulations can be a valuable tool for anyone involved in packaging for consumer goods. Exploring the regulatory landscape on your own, however, can be daunting.
Thinking About Regulatory Labelling
In this article, we will explore some of the core concepts surrounding Canadian labelling regulations. If you are not a regulatory expert, I guarantee that by the end of this article you will still NOT be a regulatory expert; in fact, we will have barely scratched the surface of all the rules and regulations that govern the labelling of pre-packaged consumer goods in Canada. You will, however, have a better understanding of how Canadian labelling regulations work, so that you can start thinking critically about the regulatory requirements that impact your pre-packaged consumer products.
DISCLAIMER: This article is not an authoritative guide. Canadian labelling regulations are nuanced and are subject to change. The concepts introduced in this article are not a substitute for government documentation.
Labelling, not just for labels
Let’s get started with an easy one. This may seem obvious for some, but depending on which segment of the graphics industry you are hailing from, the term “labelling” might be a bit misleading. For those who are completely new to the topic, be aware that the term “labelling” is not exclusive to labels. In Canadian regulatory language, “labelling” refers to all the information that must appear on or with a container. A container is defined as a receptacle, package, wrapper, or confining band in which a product is offered for sale and is customarily displayed to the consumer.
When thinking about Canadian labelling regulations, remember that “labelling” includes all information that appears on packaging normally displayed to the consumer, as well as information attached to such packaging (e.g. hanging tags), and not just labels.
What are Acts?
All the rules and regulations surrounding labelling in Canada started as bills, which then passed through several legislative steps before being finalized as “acts”. These labelling acts describe the rules and regulations that apply to your consumer product. The grand-daddy of all these acts is the “Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act”, which covers all packaged products for retail sale in Canada. Every product is also subject to additional labelling acts enacted by a variety of regulatory agencies. These additional acts cover the unique requirements of different products and product categories (e.g. food, drugs, cosmetics, hazardous chemicals, etc.), and can vary depending on location.
In the product redesign scenario described in the opening paragraph of this article, if the NoodleDoodle’s label redesign was for a food product that contained chicken – chicken noodle soup for example – it may have been subject to requirements set by the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act (CPLA), the Food and Drugs Act (FDA), in addition to Meat Inspection Regulations (MIR), and Livestock and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations, both of which are under the “Canada Agricultural Products Act”.
Be aware that acts are not set in stone. The rules and regulations surrounding Canadian labelling are subject to change. Food legislation in Canada is currently in the midst of a major modernization project, which will (hopefully) result in more continuity among the acts that govern food products. Proposed changes will not only impact the way industry interacts with federal authorities for food labelling, but also what consumers see on their food labels.
When thinking about regulatory labelling, it is important to stay updated with all the different labelling acts that affect your product. These acts will describe the mandatory information required on your product’s label.
What is Mandatory Information?
Every packaged consumer product has information that must be displayed on its container. This is referred to as “mandatory information”. For example, under the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, most containers should include: a product identity statement, a net quantity statement, and the principal place of business statement. We will discuss these elements later (see “Thinking About Regulatory Jargon”).
All mandatory elements have minimum size and formatting requirements. Minimum size requirements for each element are often related to the size of the container. Some mandatory elements must also be displayed in specific areas. Most mandatory information is required to be bilingual, displayed at the same size and prominence, in both English and French,
When thinking about regulatory labelling, it is important to be aware of all the mandatory information required, where these elements must be displayed, as well as their minimum size and formatting requirements.
What are Exemptions?
You may notice that the regulations we discuss in this article are often described as “sometimes” applying to “most” containers, and never “always” applying to “all” containers. The reason is that for Canadian labelling regulations, every rule has exceptions. These exceptions are often referred to as “exemptions”.
Going back to our chicken noodle soup example, if Noodle Doodle’s product was a chicken noodle soup that happened to contain less than 2% chicken, the label would have been exempt from the Meat Inspection Regulations (MIR) and Poultry Carcass Grading Regulations.
When thinking about regulatory labelling, it is important to be aware of all the mandatory information required for your label, as well as the exemptions – special cases when your product is exempt from displaying certain mandatory elements.
Guides, Tools, and Worksheets
We are fortunate to be living in an age when all the acts that impact the labelling of consumer goods in Canada are freely accessible online. The bad news is that these acts are legal documents, written in language that can be difficult to navigate. A few legislative agencies have identified this challenge and have made available formatted guides, tools, and worksheets that provide a great starting point for exploring labelling regulations.
When thinking about Canadian Labelling regulations, a great place to start is to seek out the labelling guides, tools, and worksheets available online.
Below are a few useful links:
Guide to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations (Competition Bureau)
Consumer Packaging and Labelling Worksheets (Competition Bureau)
Food Labelling Tool (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
Labelling of Cosmetics (Health Canada)
Tobacco Products Labelling Regulations (Health Canada)
Pet Food Industry Regulations (Pet Food Association of Canada)
Thinking about Regulatory Jargon (Definitions)
If you are completely new to the world of packaging regulations, even the formatted guides listed above may be overwhelming. Below are a few definitions that may help make sense of the jargon. Please note that the following definitions are not in alphabetical order, but have been organized to aid in understanding.
Principal Display Panel (PDP)
The principal display panel (PDP), also sometimes called the principal display surface, is the part of a package that is most likely to be displayed or examined under customary conditions of sale or use. This is usually (but not always), the side of a container that is meant to face the consumer on a retail shelf. Certain mandatory elements must appear on the PDP. The size (surface area) of the PDP also determines minimum size requirements for certain mandatory elements.
The first step in designing regulatory compliant packaging is determining what the PDP is and calculating its surface area. Be aware that some containers may have more than one PDP. For example, having two separate PDPs, one for French and one for English, is very common for Canadian products. In cases with multiple PDPs, each PDP is subject to the same regulatory requirements.
A good starting point for information about PDPs is section 2.5 and 2.6 of the Guide to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations:
Product Identity Statement
The product identity statement is a mandatory element, defined by the product’s common or generic name (e.g. chicken soup), or it may be defined in terms of its function (e.g. facial cleaner). Some products are exempt from displaying a product identity statement. When required, the product identity statement must appear on the PDP.
Minimum type height for product identity is 1.6mm, unless the PDP is under 10cm2 in which case the product identity may be a minimum of 0.8mm. There is no specific requirement for type style, but it must be legible.
A good starting point for information about product identity statements is section 2.1 of the “Guide to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations”:
Net Quantity Statement
The net quantity statement, also sometimes called the net weight statement, is a mandatory element that describes the amount of product inside a container. Some products are exempt from having to display net quantity. When required, the net quantity statement must appear on the PDP.
Minimum type height of the net quantity statement is determined by the area of the PDP. Type style is required to be bold. The colour must be reasonably contrasting with the background. Measurements must be metric (an imperial conversion may be included, but the metric declaration must be listed first). There must be a space between the number and the metric unit (e.g. “125 mg”, not “125mg”).
The competition bureau has provided labelling assessment worksheets for specific types of products, which describe how net weight should be expressed. In the link below, look under Worksheets for Specific Products > click on type of product > Net Quantity Declaration:
Principal Place of Business Statement
Most prepackaged products are required to show the dealer or manufacturer’s name, along with contact information. This is called the principal place of business statement. The recommended form of contact information is a complete mailing address including postal code. A phone number or website is acceptable, but is not recommended as a substitute for the mailing address. Some products are exempt from displaying the principal place of business. Interesting note: the principal place of business is one of the only mandatory elements that is not required to be bilingual in Canada.
Minimum type height for product identity is 1.6mm, unless the PDP is under 10cm2 in which case the product identity may be a minimum of 0.8mm. There is no specific requirement for type style, but it must be legible.
A good starting point to learn about the requirements for the Principal Place of Business statement is section 2.3 of the “Guide to the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and Regulations”:
Claims
Often, a product label will include descriptions about the benefits of the product. These are called claims. Some examples include therapeutic/health claims, nutrition content claims, and/or structure/function claims.
Claims are not considered mandatory information, but they are regulated. In certain cases, a claim will trigger additional mandatory information that must be displayed. Some claims may even change which regulatory acts apply to a product. For example, a simple face cleaner is considered a cosmetic product, but if its labelling displays a therapeutic claim that this product will also cure acne, this face cleaner might now be classified as a drug and will be regulated as such.
The impact of claims on compliance can be extremely complex and require diligent monitoring by regulatory professionals. One good rule to follow is to always be truthful; misleading claims are never acceptable.
Vignettes
A vignette is a pictorial depiction of a product. In Canadian labelling, as much as words are regulated, so are pictures. Vignettes displayed on a container must accurately reflect the container’s contents. Be aware that certain depictions may trigger additional mandatory information. For example, having a product shot that is not size-accurate may trigger a photo disclaimer e.g. “enlarged for texture”).
Regulations for vignettes are not exclusive to food products, but the following link by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) provides a good starting point for understanding the impact of vignettes on labelling requirements:
http://bit.ly/foodlabel-vignettes
Final Thoughts
If you have made it to the end of this article, congratulations! As we promised, if you were not a regulatory expert before you started reading, you are not a regulatory expert now. For additional insight on the topic, we reached out to an actual regulatory expert Gary Gnirss, President of Legal Suites Inc. (http://www.legalsuites.com/). Legal Suites provides specialized regulatory information and knowledge resources to the industry and regulatory professionals. Their objective is to “help industry help themselves” through workshops, training programs, consulting, language services, and smart tools. Gary has worked with the biggest CPGs in the world and has trained countless regulatory professionals in his career.
Gary had the following advice for those creating compliant labelling:
“Labelling is very technical and requires a keen and sharp focus to get right. It is not always compatible with a free design spirit. Just about every word or image on a label has an impact on compliance. Just as important as the aesthetics of a label is its technical ‘correctness’. A beautiful label can still be non-compliant, and run into objections by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), or other government officials. A great label is the collaborative effort among designers, marketing, and regulatory professionals. Do not underestimate the need for quality regulatory guidance. A compliant label does not have to be ugly. A knowledgeable regulatory professional might be able to help find the options that work.”
On the challenges of maintaining regulatory compliance in Canada:
“Time is the biggest challenge. There is so much at stake with compliance. There is much more to review and to consider now than 20 years ago. [For food products] there is now nutrition labelling, allergen labelling, health claims, and claims in general on top of other things to consider. Lots of things can go wrong. Less time and quicker turnarounds is exhausting. To get it right one has to be on the top of one’s game all the time. There is less time for the ‘learning curve’ as well. If an organization cannot recruit and maintain highly motivated regulatory professionals, compliance will surely suffer. One of the biggest complaints I hear is that very motivated people get really frustrated when they do not have access to adequate training. If a company is interested in maintaining a high competency for regulatory compliance, their staff needs to be trained and kept trained. That’s an ongoing process.”
I attended one of Gary’s workshops a few years ago – an introductory course on North American Food labelling – and was surprised to find regulatory experts with decades of experience among the attendees. The attendees I spoke with in Gary’s workshop all found immense value in ongoing training and explained that even for those with decades of experience, introductory courses are useful refreshers. In addition, regulations are subject to change and it is important to stay up to date.
For more information on Canadian labelling regulations try searching online using terminology found in this article. A helpful tip is to be aware of the different product categories that consumer goods are generally grouped under. Some of these product categories include: food, pet food, cosmetics, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and household goods. For example, if you are looking for Canadian labelling regulations for lipstick, try searching for “Canadian Labelling Cosmetics”. If you’re specifically looking for what is required on the PDP of a lipstick container, just add “PDP” to the search string. Stick with government websites for the most accurate information. You will be surprised how much information is available online.
Remember, you do not have to be a regulatory expert to find value in regulatory knowledge. Starting your design process with compliance in mind may prevent costly revisions down the line and could be the difference for profitability. Hopefully we were able to make the world of Canadian labelling regulations a little less intimidating, so that you can start exploring the regulatory landscape on your own.
