Beer

For products that meet the Standard of Identity for beer as per the Food & Drug Regulations Division 2

Front

Vignette and product brand name are optional but must not be misleading or imply irresponsible use of product when used.

Common Name / The common name declaration must be bilingual. Minimum height 1.6 mm based on the lower case “o”. Beer common names incorporate adjectives which correlate to their alcoholic strength. Please refer to the Food and Drug Regulations [B.02.132] to determine the qualified common name based on percentage of alcohol by volume.

Net Quantity / The minimum size of numerical characters varies with surface area of container. The minimum size for a 355 mL or 473mL can is 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.

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 can/bottle). These mandatory items can be together anywhere on the label.

Back

Ingredient List / A product which meets the standard of identity as set out in the Food and Drug Regulations for beer 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 / A product which meets the standard of identity as set out in the F&D Regs for beer is no longer exempt from the requirement of providing an allergen declaration. Beer labels must declare food allergens, gluten sources, or added sulphites. The declaration must be bilingual and state all allergens. The declaration must appear in a box and be black text on a white background. Minimum font height of 1.1mm lower case “o”. Please refer to the Food & Drug Regulations for more information.

Additional Copy /Any copy or statements 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.

Brewing Location / Declaration of the city/town/place where the beer was brewed.

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).

Lot Code / All selling units must bear a lot code. A lot code can be numeric, alphabetical or alphanumeric and must be readily discernable and legible.

Organic Claims / The label of an organic product must have a bilingual organic claim ‘organic/ biologique’ and bear the name of the certification body that has certified the product as organic under part 13 of the SFCR

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”).

 

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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 ProductPackaging Standards and other LCBO operational and policy requirements.