The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), nutritional facts (NFT), and more explained. All the good stuff.
The most exciting part of my job as a designer and business owner is when a small food-based company reaches out to me to help create a label/packaging for them so they can start distributing to a larger market. This excites me as it means this small business is ready to take it to the next level and I’m honored to be part of that journey.
To be able to effectively help my clients I have found it is extremely important to educate myself on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) requirements, as with a larger distribution, comes more attention from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The CFIA can make it very hard and unclear as the website is not the easiest to navigate as well as having to wrap your head around the endless amount of jargon. Fortunately, throughout my years as a designer for food, beverage, and wellness brands I have gained a good base knowledge to help guide as best I can. Furthermore, I am fortunate enough to have some wonderful contacts to help my clients even further.
First things first, why are nutritional fact tables important?
The main answer is it’s for your consumer! Consumers year on year are understanding and seeing the value of the information found on a nutrition facts table, especially when it comes to comparing you to your competitors. Additionally just as important is the ingredients and allergies to help your consumer make their choice.
Are you exempt from needing Nutritional facts?
Depending on your sales model you may be exempt from needing a nutrition facts table (NFT). Small businesses that sell directly to their own customer base through their own store, market stall, etc are generally exempt under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. The guidelines are as follows: The people making and selling the product must be in the province or territory it is prepared in, and can only be sold in that area as well. If this is you, then great one less thing to worry about. However, I would strongly recommend considering getting prepared to apply NFT’s to your packaging for various reasons. The first reason, as mentioned above already, it is extremely important information for your customer. And we all know your customer is the most important! Secondly, you never know when your expansion may lead to selling further afield or in other retailer stores. It is extremely valuable to get ready for your inevitable expansion!
How do I create a Nutritional Panel for my product?
Firstly it starts with weighing out your recipes accurately. Once you have gathered all your data you can generate your NFT’s in two ways: Chemical analysis or database generation. Chemical analysis is the more costly service as it involves your product being analyzed in a laboratory to generate your NFT.
Database nutrition however is far more affordable. Essentially there is a database with the majority of the world’s ingredients within it, so if your recipe is not overly complicated it is possible to generate your NFT off existing data. Two platforms I have heard clients use are Recipal and ESHA. As I have not personally used these myself I cannot recommend which is easier or better. However, I have heard that ESHA has a wider range of ingredients within its database.
I also encourage my clients to ensure their product is CFIA compliant, however, this can come at a cost to have someone inspect your product. I have heard of some clients getting funding to help offset costs so that is also worth exploring.
I am in the progress/ have all of the above done. Now I just need a label/packaging created? How?
Look no further! Hello! At designfulhope I have over 13 years of experience within the food, beverage, and wellness industry. I have gathered a whole range of consumer and client insight which I use to create and solve any creative issue that comes my way. That might be wanting a consumer to buy your product, fall in love with your brand, or be engaged in the moment.
Whether you’re an existing brand, fresh off the block, or just an idea waiting to be born, let’s chat and I can tell you what I can do to help. Have some more questions please feel free to reach out
Hope Aylen- Designfulhope
