Overview

The purpose of a label is to provide basic product information to consumers.

Provincial meat plants are subject to both federal and provincial labelling requirements.

Federal:

Provincial:

Provincial labelling requirements

The provincial Meat Regulation (O. Reg. 31/05) requires pre-packaged meat products and bulk containers to have:

  • the meat inspection legend
  • allergen declaration in the list of ingredients or as a contains statement, when an allergen is added as an ingredient or is a component of an ingredient
  • a production date or code, unless meat product is a carcass or half carcass
  • storage instructions ("Keep Refrigerated/Garder au Froid" or "Keep Frozen/Garder Congélé") if the meat product is not shelf-stable or does not meet any conditions specified in the legislation
  • appropriate use statements ("ready to cook", "uncooked", "ready to cook/prêt à cuire" or "uncooked/non cuit" or an equivalent term) and cooking instructions when the product is not ready-to-eat but appears to be ready-to-eat
  • species is included where a carcass, cut, organ or tissue is described on the label
  • where there is a standard set out in Table 1 Meat Product Standards of Reg. 31/05, the product conforms to the standards set out by the table and the related common name is used on the label
  • when a word or phrase from the table in section 119 (Labelling Restrictions Based on Process of Meat Products) is shown on the label of a meat product, the meat product has met the related requirements of this table
  • grade name or the words "ungraded beef" for raw beef cuts
  • the words "May contain kidneys" or "May contain kidneys/Peut contenir des reins" for young chickens or young ducks
  • the words "clean, green" or "clean, green/lavé, vert" if the meat product is a part of an alimentary tract that has not been scalded or bleached but cleaned in another manner
  • all federal labelling requirements

All required information must be:

  • easily legible
  • in characters not less than 1.6mm in height (unless the principal display area is 10cm2 or less, in which case the information may be in characters not less than 0.8mm in height).

For more information on provincial labelling requirements, please speak to your inspector or area manager.

Federal labelling requirements

Federal labelling requirements are under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). For information on federal requirements, please contact CFIA directly or visit:

Contact us

For more information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre toll-free at 1-877-424-1300 or e-mail ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca.