Canadians have been clear that they want to support Canadian businesses and buy Canadian products. Consumers deserve origin labels they can trust so they can make informed choices. Accurate origin labelling creates a fair marketplace that benefits both consumers and businesses.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is protecting consumers from misleading food labels and advertisements. Since April 1, 2025, the Agency has issued $47,000 in financial penalties to businesses for inaccurate or misleading country of origin claims:
- 1000717809 Ontario Limited (Fortinos Etobicoke) received a $10,000 penalty;
- Fresh in The City Inc. received a $7,000 penalty;
- Meatex Farms Ltd. received a $10,000 penalty;
- Oxford Frozen Foods Inc. received a $10,000 penalty;
- Real Canadian Superstore received a $10,000 penalty.
Food businesses are responsible for ensuring that all food products they sell, whether made in Canada or imported, meet Canada's legislative requirements.
The CFIA takes labelling issues seriously and is directly addressing the growing concern with Canadian food businesses over inaccurate and misleading origin claims. In addition to responding to complaints, we conduct inspections to verify origin claims on labels and advertisements, including in-store signage. This includes CFIA inspectors:
- raising awareness of the importance of accurate labelling and reminding businesses of their regulatory responsibilities;
- reviewing labels and business processes;
- issuing inspection reports and requests for corrective action;
- verifying corrective actions are in place to prevent future non-compliance;
- taking enforcement actions.
The CFIA selects appropriate compliance and enforcement actions based on a range of considerations including, the degree of risk, the harm caused by the non-compliance, the compliance history of the regulated party, whether there is negligence or intent to violate federal requirements, and responsiveness to resolving the issue.
