For products that meet the Standard of Identity for spirit as per the Food & Drug Regulations Division 2
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Vignette and product brand name are optional but must not be misleading or imply irresponsible use of product.
Common Name / The common name declaration must be bilingual. Minimum height 1.6 mm based on the lower case “o”.
Net Quantity / The minimum size of numerical characters varies with surface area of the container. All bottles/cans larger than 50mL but smaller than 1.75L and all 1L tetra pak packages require a font height of minimum 3.2 mm. See the Safe Foods for Canadians Regulations, Schedule 6 for other container sizes. Minimum size of mL or L is 1.6 mm, based on the lower case “m”.
Alcohol Strength / This is the bilingual format for alcohol declaration. The smallest letter must be at least 1.6 mm in height. “alc. X.X% vol.” is also accepted as bilingual.
Nutrition Labelling / Beverages with an alcohol content of more than 0.5% are usually exempt from carrying a Nutrition Facts table (NFT). This exemption may be lost in certain situations, for example when a nutrient content claim is made or when an unstandardized alcoholic beverage contains added artificial sweeteners. If a NFT is present, it must fully meet the requirements as set out in the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations including serving size requirements.
Single Field of Vision / Common name, net quantity and alcohol strength must be visible in a single field of vision (must all be visible at once, without rotating the bottle). These mandatory items can be together anywhere on the label.
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Ingredient List / A product which meets a standard of identity as set out in Division 2 of the Food and Drug Regulations is exempt from the requirement of providing an ingredient list. However, if one is provided it must be bilingual and list all ingredients by descending order of proportion by weight. The declaration must appear in a box and be black text on a white background. Minimum font height of 1.1mm lower case “o”.
Allergen declaration / If an allergen is present in the finished product, an allergen declaration is required. This can be either in the ingredient list or in a “contains” statement. The declaration must appear in a box and be black text on a white background. The declaration must appear in a box and be black text on a white background. Minimum font height of 1.1mm lower case “o”.
Additional Copy /Any copy, statements or claims must not be misleading or imply irresponsible use of product. Not required to be bilingual.
Dealer Name and Address / Require name and address of manufacturer or Canadian importer. Importer info must be preceded with “imported for / importé pour”. (American importer must be removed or preceded with “In USA imported by”.) Must be minimum 1.6 mm in height based on the lower case “o”. Country name must be in English or French.
GTIN bar code must appear on all consumer selling units. Minimum 80% magnification required. Human readable characters should be on the left (if vertical placement) and on the bottom (if horizontal placement).
Organic Claims / The label of an organic product must have a bilingual organic claim ‘organic/ biologique’ and bear the name
Product Code Marking & Refund Statements / As per the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) a lot code is required on all selling units (mandatory since July 2020). Production date, best before or freshness date required for all beer. Refund statements are optional but, if present, must be bilingual, minimum 1.6 mm in height. They must be worded such that the purchaser cannot construe that the point of return is the LCBO (e.g. contain a disclaimer such as “where applicable”).
Simplified Labelling Guidelines for Unstandardized Product
PDF version
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Published November 2020, updated to align with the CFIA’s Food Modernization Initiative and the Safe Food for Canadians Act & Regulations. In producing these simplified guidelines, some requirements may not have been included and some may be ambiguous. The LCBO takes no responsibility for any problems / errors in label design resulting from using these guidelines.
It is the supplier responsibility to ensure that a product label complies with all applicable Canadian laws, Canadian Association of Liquor Jurisdictions (CALJ) standards, and LCBO Product Packaging Standards and other LCBO operational and policy requirements.