Explanation:
1. “Made in Canada” Claim:
- A “Made in Canada” claim indicates that the last significant processing or manufacturing step took place in Canada.
- This claim is acceptable even if some ingredients are imported.
- A qualifying statement is required to prove the origin your ingredients, such as “Made in Canada from imported ingredients”.
2. “Product of Canada” Claim:
- This claim is more restrictive and requires that all key ingredients, the manufacturing, and labor used in the product be Canadian.
- Small quantities of non-Canadian ingredients (less than 2%) may be acceptable, especially for ingredients not usually produced in Canada (e.g. excipients such as flavoring, colors).
- Packaging materials are not important when determining if a product qualifies as “Product of Canada”.
Alternate wording may be considered that is more accurate to the actual process used to make the product. For instance, those producers could use: “Assembled in Canada with parts from (country).” However, statements such as “Product of Canada and India” are prohibited regardless of the documented evidence.
Food “Product of Canada”
If a food is labelled Product of Canada, similar requirements are in effect as those applied to non-food products. The product must have up to 98% of its ingredients, production, processing, and labour come from Canada. Further, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency states that the word “Canadian” means the same thing as Product of Canada — all of the ingredients in the product must be of Canadian origin to support the claim.
Linda Beach is the founder, sole owner, and Director of Canadian Natural Health Product Registry (CNHPR), operating under Medical Botany Research. Based on Canada’s west coast, Linda has been providing regulatory consulting and compliance expertise to Canadian and international companies since 2004, when Canada’s Natural Health Products Regulations first came into effect.
A Certified Herbalist with a degree in Botany and Medical Research, Linda also holds certifications in several natural and complementary healing modalities. This combination of scientific training and hands-on herbal expertise gives her a unique perspective on the products she helps bring to market — from vitamins and herbal remedies to nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and sports supplements.
Over her two decades working directly with Health Canada, Linda has built strong working relationships with regulators that have translated into consistent success in securing Natural Product Numbers (NPNs) for her clients. Her advocacy work has had industry-wide impact — including playing a key role in Health Canada’s decision to reinstate hempseed oil to its approved ingredient database after it had been removed, restoring a path to market for products containing the ingredient.
Through CNHPR, Linda guides clients through every stage of the licensing process: developing a tailored regulatory strategy, compiling required documentation, and managing submissions from signing through to Health Canada approval.
