Common name Meat cut nomenclature Modified standardized common names for meat products Coined names for meat products Highlighting meat cuts in the common name Species-specific common name Declaration of species Ground meat Veal Ham Jellied prepared meat Meat and poultry products with food additives or added water Retained water declaration for raw single-ingredient meat products Meat products formed with meat binders Meat products with soy protein isolate or hydrolyzed soy protein
Ground meat
Meat and poultry products with food additives or added water
Retained water declaration for raw single-ingredient meat products
Nutrition labelling Exemptions from nutrition labelling Nutrition Facts table Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbol Disclaimer on retail store signs Fat trim and skin Available display surface for bacon board packages
Exemptions from nutrition labelling Nutrition Facts table Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbol
Nutrition Facts table
Meat and meat products with food additives or added water Products with food additives or added water Compositional requirements Common name – meat and meat products with food additives Declaration of the minimum meat protein content as part of the common name Exemptions from requirements of meat and meat products with food additives List of ingredients – meat and meat products with food additives Nutrition Facts table – meats and meat products with food additives Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbol – meats and meat products with food additives Summary tables of labelling requirements for meats with food additives or added water
Products with food additives or added water
Declaration of the minimum meat protein content as part of the common name
Nutrition Facts table – meats and meat products with food additives
Summary tables of labelling requirements for meats with food additives or added water
Reference information Meat products for which a minimum meat protein content is prescribed Compliance policy for protein content of meat and poultry products with food additives or added water
Meat products for which a minimum meat protein content is prescribed
Compliance policy for protein content of meat and poultry products with food additives or added water
For ground meat, the name of the cut from which ground meat is prepared is not required to describe this product, although permitted by the standard of identity for ground meat in the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products . Any references to the cut of meat must be truthful and not misleading. Refer to Ground meat for more information.
When a cut of meat is highlighted in the common name of a meat product such as burgers, ground meat products, patties or sausages, the meat must be sourced only from the applicable cut as defined by the Meat cuts manual . Furthermore, the meat must be comprised of a normal distribution of constituents (for example, muscle-fat ratio) as prescribed by common names and standards. The modifier is not permitted to appear between the prescribed words which make up the standardized common name, and to avoid potential confusion, the animal species should be included in the common name. The modifier should appear in the same size type and prominence as the common name.
When the subspecies is included as part of the common name of the meat product, such as burgers, ground meats products, patties or sausages, to avoid potential confusion, the animal species should be included in the common name and all should appear in the same type size and prominence.
Ground meat
Standards of identity are prescribed for ground meat under sections 13.1.4 to 13.1.6 of the Canadian Food Compositional Standards document and items 1 to 4 in Part A of Table 2 of the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products . The appropriate common name for these products is the name that corresponds with the fat content, and other aspects of the standard, as follows:
Regular Ground (Naming the species or cut) – maximum 30% fat
Medium Ground (Naming the species or cut) – maximum 23% fat
Lean Ground (Naming the species or cut) – maximum 17% fat
Extra Lean Ground (Naming the species or cut) – maximum 10% fat
For example: "Regular Ground Beef" may only contain beef with a fat content of 30% or lower.
In addition to the above standards for ground meats, "Meat Pattie" and "Meat Burger" also have prescribed standards set out under items 7 to 9 in Part A of Table 2 of the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products . When combining the term "pattie" or "burger" with "ground meat" to describe a ground meat product, the product must meet the standards applicable to all the meat products in that name.
For example: A product may only use the common name "Lean Ground Beef Pattie" if the product meets the standard for lean ground beef and does not contain any other ingredients. An appropriate common name for ground beef patties containing seasoning, salt or spices would be "Beef Patties".
Meat and poultry products with food additives or added water
Refer to Meat and meat products with food additives or added water section for common name requirements for meat products to which one or many food additives or water have been added.
Retained water declaration for raw single-ingredient meat products
The amount of water added and retained in raw single-ingredient meat products due to post-evisceration contact with water, in excess of naturally occurring moisture, must be declared as part of the product name on the principal display panel of consumer prepackaged products, or on the label of prepackaged other than consumer prepackaged products. Raw single-ingredient meat products include items such as dressed carcasses, parts of dressed carcasses, offal and giblets.
Please note that standards for water retention in dressed poultry carcasses are set out in section 20 of the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products . As such, a declaration of retained water for dressed poultry carcasses is not required. However, poultry carcasses containing giblets (for example, frozen turkeys) require a retained water declaration for the giblets.
When a licence holder follows the Poultry water retention control program , carcass parts may increase in weight up to specified limits without the need to declare the percentage of retained water on the label.
"up to X% retained water added due to processing"
The retained water percentage is always rounded to the nearest whole number. Retained water below 0.5% does not need to be declared. The permitted labelling variation is a maximum of 20% above the declared amount within the retained water statement.
Operators may include a "no retained water" statement on the label (optional) when no water added due to post-evisceration processing has been retained by the raw single-ingredient meat product.
Note: A claim such as "no water added" is not permitted since it may likely be considered misleading under subsections 5(1) of the FDA and 6(1) of the SFCA. Refer to Negative claims pertaining to the absence or non-addition of a substance for more information.
When the retained water declaration is presented as part of the product description, it must be conspicuously shown and written in characters not less than half the size of the product's common name or half the size of any additional mandatory information.
Packages containing a variety of raw, single-ingredient meat products (for example, giblets) may declare the amount of retained water on the label by either:
Only water absorbed and retained as part of the Kosher process may be excluded from the retained water declaration, provided that the product description contains the phrase "soaked and salted" or a similar phrase.
Any retained water in raw single-ingredient meat products, used as ingredients, does not need to be declared on the label of prepared, including multi-ingredient, meat products (for example, raw or cooked sausage, pre-basted turkeys with or without giblets, giblets within a pre-basted turkey carcass, or deli meats). However, these meat products must comply with applicable standards of identity or composition requirements for the specific prepared meat product as described in the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products or in the Canadian Food Compositional Standards document .
added water used as an ingredient that has been removed during the manufacture of the prepackaged product [B.01.008(3)(e), FDR]
Some meat products (that is to say, raw single ingredient meats, meat by-products, poultry meats or poultry meat by-products) are usually exempt from declaring a Nutrition Facts table (NFt) under subparagraph B.01.401(2)(b)(iii) of the FDR. If regulated parties choose to voluntarily display an NFt on an otherwise exempt product, the NFt must be displayed in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements.
However, some meat products (that is to say, ground meat, ground meat by-products, ground poultry meat or ground poultry meat by-products) always lose the exemption and are required to carry an NFt [B.01.401(3)(d), FDR]. For more information, please refer to Reasons for losing the exemption .
Meat and meat products with food additives or added water have specific nutrition labelling requirements.
The following prepackaged products when not ground are exempt from the nutrition symbol requirements if exempt from carrying a Nutrition Facts table [B.01.350(13), FDR]:
Meat and meat products with food additives or added water
Sections B.01.090, B.01.091, B.14.021 and B.22.012 of the FDR establish labelling requirements and minimum meat protein contents for solid cut meat, including poultry meat, to which food additives or water have been added. Certain food additives can result in water uptake in meat and poultry meat, hence the reason for requiring that the minimum meat protein requirements be met when such food additives are used for those foods. Health Canada's Lists of permitted food additives and the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products set out the limits and rules for the addition of food additives or water to meat products.
Products with food additives or added water
Type 3 – prepared meat products for which a standard is prescribed, and meat products that contain a filler : Specific minimum meat protein contents are prescribed in the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products , incorporated by reference into the SFCR, or in Divisions 14 or 22 of the FDR and reproduced in the table Meat products for which a minimum meat protein content is prescribed .
Solid cut meat product (type 1): their minimum meat protein content must not, unless otherwise specified by regulations, be less than 12% when cooked Footnote 1 , or less than 10% when uncooked [B.14.021, B.22.012, FDR].
Chopped and chopped and formed meat products (type 2): their minimum meat protein content must not, unless otherwise specified by regulations, contain less than 12% meat protein when cooked, or less than 10% when uncooked.
Prepared meat products for which a standard is prescribed, and meat products that contain a filler (type 3): their minimum meat protein content for specific prepared meat products is specified in Table 2 of the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products , or in Divisions 14 or 22 of the FDR.
For more information, see the table Meat products for which a minimum meat protein content is prescribed .
The use of the term "seasoned" in conjunction with the product's common name has been found to be acceptable when phosphate salts alone or with water are incorporated into a product. Similarly, the use of the term "seasoned" is also acceptable when spices are added with water. However, if water alone (for example, water being the only non-meat ingredient) is added, then an expression such as "water added" must be part of the product's common name.
Declaration of the minimum meat protein content as part of the common name
The label of prepackaged type 1 or 2 products to which phosphate salts or water have been added must have a statement of the "% meat protein" as part of the common name of the product on the principal display panel of the package with no intervening material. These statements enable consumers to make price and quality comparisons. The letter type must be at least as legible and conspicuous as any other type on that display panel, and in a minimum of half the size of the letters used in the rest of the common name of the product. The type height cannot be less than 1.6 mm in height [B.01.090(2), FDR]. Declarations such as "minimum meat protein xx%" /" au moins xx % de protéines de viande " or "meat protein xx%" /"xx % protéines de viande " are acceptable.
"chicken breast with water added, minimum xx% meat protein", in the case of a chicken breast to which only water has been incorporated
"seasoned chicken breast, xx% minimum meat protein", in the case of a chicken breast to which water and phosphate salts have been incorporated
The labelling requirement of the minimum meat protein content is not required where phosphate salts or water have not been incorporated into the meat ingredient(s) but are present in the food via the addition of a non-meat ingredient (for example, a sauce, glaze, broth, marinade, etc.).
For information on compliance and tolerance of protein declaration, refer to the Compliance policy for protein content of meat and poultry products with food additives or added water .
Side bacon, Wiltshire bacon, pork jowls, salt pork and salt beef are exempted from the minimum meat protein requirement [B.14.021, FDR] and from the percent (%) meat protein label declaration [B.01.092, FDR].
Water absorbed by poultry carcasses during the post-slaughter chilling process is not considered to be an ingredient provided the amount of moisture picked up does not exceed the prescribed tolerances. Refer to Retained water declaration for raw single-ingredient meat products for more information. However, when water is added as an ingredient to previously chilled poultry, the resulting product is subject to the minimum meat protein requirement and the additional labelling requirements mentioned above.
Nutrition Facts table – meat and meat products with food additives
A Nutrition Facts table (NFt) is required on meat and poultry to which food additives or water have been added whether packed at retail or packed at the manufacturer. The FDR exemption for raw single ingredient meats does not apply to meats containing a food additive or water added because these products are no longer raw, single ingredient meat products. For the meat and poultry meat required to have the percent (%) meat protein declaration applicable to type 1 and type 2 products, it also triggers the NFt, even if other exemptions apply, such as the less than 200 cm 2 available display surface or manufactured on premises. Refer to Other permitted references to protein and to Reasons for losing the exemption for more information.
Summary tables of labelling requirements for meats with food additives or added water
Nutrition Facts table [B.01.401(3)(e)(i), FDR]
Nutrition Facts table
The above definitions of "lean" and "extra lean" do not apply to ground meat or ground poultry which are subject to the standards for ground meats defined in items 1 to 4 in Part A of Table 2 in the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 7 – Meat Products . For more information, refer to Ground meat in the common name section.
The percent (%) meat protein declaration is required as part of the common name for meat and poultry products with phosphate salts or added water. For more information, please refer to Meat and meat products with food additives or added water .
Claims such as "no water added during the chilling process" are permitted if the poultry is air chilled and the licence holder of the establishment is able to demonstrate through a quality control program and data that there is no more than 0.5% of water retained (to account for the scale variability) post evisceration.
Meat products for which a minimum meat protein content is prescribed
Tolerances for declarations of energy and nutrients in the Nutrition Facts table are described in the Compliance test .
See Declaration of the minimum meat protein content as part of the common name for more details on labelling requirements and minimum protein levels.
Note: Bones, covering pork rind or a visible fat layer (for example, subcutaneous fat or fat between the muscles) shall not be included in a sample used to determine meat protein content for the purpose of the minimum meat protein content [B.14.021, B.22.012, FDR]. It is also not included in the main panel declaration of protein content [B.01.090, FDR].
minimum meat protein content – equal to requirement
The lot is deemed to be out of compliance when the protein content of the sample (composite or mean) is less than the minimum meat protein requirement, or when a single unit is less than 90% of the minimum.