Pre-packaged food with a Nutrition Facts table required under the Food and Drugs Act (Canada) show the amount of trans fat per serving so that consumers can easily identify the amount of trans fats by reading the label.
Yes. A food that says “trans fat free” will meet both the 2% and 5% trans fat restrictions. However, you must also have the ingredient list, Nutrition Facts table or product specification sheet for all food on site to show an Environmental Health Officer that your food meets the restrictions.
The claim “trans fat free” is a federally regulated claim separate from the BC trans fat regulation. For more information on nutrient content claims, visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Website - Nutrient Content Claims.
No. Since the claim “trans fat free” is not mandatory on labels and manufacturers can choose to use it or not; there are many other food products that can be used in your establishment that do not necessarily carry this claim. It’s important to check with your supplier to see if the food meets the restrictions and to verify the paperwork.
No. The % Daily Value (DV) is used by the consumer to see whether a food has a little or a lot of a nutrient(s) based on an individual’s daily nutritional requirements. The % DV is not related to the trans fat restrictions.
According to federal law, documentation for all food must be provided to you as a food service establishment at each delivery. If a product does not have an ingredient list and Nutrition Facts table on the package itself, ask your supplier for a product specification sheet.
For more information visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Website - Information Letter - Accompanying Documentation for Nutrition Labelling.
A Canadian ingredient list, a Nutrition Facts table, or a product specification sheet is required for all food imported into Canada. Ask your manufacturer for documentation.
By law, all food imported into Canada must be labelled according to Canadian regulations. If you have an inquiry or complaint about products that are not in compliance with the labelling requirements, contact the nearest Canadian Food Inspection Agency office:
Use the nutrition information on the ingredient list and Nutrition Facts table first. If this information is not available, use the product specification sheet.
In the case that the food label or product specification sheet has nutrition information on both a 100g and a per serving basis, use the information given on a per serving basis.
In this situation, the food contains a very small amount of industrially produced trans fat, so the amount is rounded to zero.
Products with the clause “Not a significant source of trans fat…” should be treated as having 0g of trans fat, and therefore compliant with the trans fat restrictions. A product specification sheet outlining the exact amount of trans fat for these sorts of products is not required---the simplified Nutrition Facts Table is an acceptable form of documentation and the product would be treated as having no trans fat.