CFIA Nutrition Label Rounding Rules for Canada
The CFIA has very specific rules covering how to round nutrition labels depending on the nutrient and its value. That's why you [hopefully!] won't see labels showing 122 Calories or 2.5% Daily Value of Fat. With so many different nutrients and numbers on a nutrition label, rounding makes it easier for consumers to digest the information on your packaging and labels.
After all, it's the same thing you naturally do when someone asks you the time (you'll round to the nearest 5, 10, or maybe 15 minutes). The CFIA just lays out how exactly to round each nutrient at each value of that nutrient, rather than you winging it. It keeps labels consistent and less demanding to read.
Below, we'll lay out the CFIA rounding rules for each nutrient on a nutrition label. ReciPal's nutrition labeling software does all this automatically so you don't have to think about it, but it's still useful to have a reference and to sanity check your labels.
| Category | Rounding Rule |
|---|---|
| Serving Size |
<10 g or 10 mL: nearest 0.1 g or 0.1 mL ≥10 g or 10 mL: nearest 1 g or 1 mL |
| Calories |
<5: 0 (if meets calorie-free criteria), else nearest 1 Cal 5 - 50: nearest 5 Cal >50: nearest 10 Cal |
| Fats (Total, Saturated, Trans) |
<0.5g: 0 (if meets fat-free criteria), else nearest 0.1g 0.5g - 5g: nearest 0.5g >5g: nearest 1g |
| Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated Fats |
<1g: nearest 0.1g 1g - 5g: nearest 0.5g >5g: nearest 1g |
| Carbohydrates, Fibre, Sugars |
<0.5g: 0g ≥0.5g: nearest 1g |
| Protein |
<0.5g: nearest 0.1g ≥0.5g: nearest 1g |
| Cholesterol | <2mg: 0 (if meets cholesterol-free criteria), else nearest 5mg |
| Sodium |
<5mg: 0 (if meets sodium-free criteria), else nearest 1mg 5mg - 140mg: nearest 5mg >140mg: nearest 10mg |
| Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus |
<5mg: 0mg 5mg - 50mg: nearest 10mg 50mg - 250mg: nearest 25mg ≥250mg: nearest 50mg |
| Iron, Zinc, Vitamin E |
<0.05mg: 0mg 0.05mg - 0.5mg: nearest 0.1mg 0.5mg - 2.5mg: nearest 0.25mg ≥2.5mg: nearest 0.5mg |
| Vitamin A |
<5µg: 0µg 5µg - 50µg: nearest 10µg 50µg - 250µg: nearest 50µg ≥250µg: nearest 100µg |
| Vitamin C |
<0.1mg: 0mg 0.1mg - 1mg: nearest 0.2mg 1mg - 5mg: nearest 0.5mg ≥5mg: nearest 1mg |
| Vitamin D |
<0.1µg: 0µg 0.1µg - 1µg: nearest 0.2µg 1µg - 5µg: nearest 0.5µg ≥5µg: nearest 1µg |
| Thiamin, Riboflavin, Manganese |
<0.005mg: 0mg 0.005mg - 0.05mg: nearest 0.01mg 0.05mg - 0.25mg: nearest 0.025mg ≥0.25mg: nearest 0.05mg |
| Magnesium |
<1mg: 0mg 1mg - 10mg: nearest 2mg 10mg - 50mg: nearest 5mg ≥50mg: nearest 10mg |
| Copper |
<0.0015mg: 0mg 0.0015mg - 0.025mg: nearest 0.002mg 0.025mg - 0.05mg: nearest 0.005mg ≥0.05mg: nearest 0.01mg |
That's The Rounding Roundup
Now you know what's required, and it's kind of a lot to chew on, but you don't have to worry about it if you use ReciPal's nutrition label maker. It's all happening behind the scenes when ReciPal formats your label!
Once you enter your recipe from our reliable nutrition database, we'll calculate the unrounded nutrition values for you, and your customizable label will round each nutrient value based on the rules above. Then you can download your finished compliant nutrition label as a digital file (PDF or PNG), including the ingredient list, allergens, and business address, to print however you'd like. You'll impress your more nutrition conscious customers and be able to sell to wholesale buyers with confidence.
