Pre-Packaged Food Product Safety, Measurement, Packaging, and Labelling Requirements

The Constance Bay Community Market (CBCM) receives direction from Farmers' Markets Ontario (FMO) and Ottawa Public Health (OPH). Vendors who sell pre-packaged food products are required to follow the rules set by these institutions.

Vendors are also required to be aware of and abide by any other regulations governing the safety, measurement, packaging, and labelling of their pre-packaged food products at the federal, provincial, and municipal level.

The CBCM provides vendors with its experience based advice and its support, however, it is solely the vendor’s responsibility to be aware of and to comply with all federal, provincial, and municipal regulations. The CBCM will neither be responsible for advising vendors of these regulations, nor for any dealings with government officials that may conduct inspections.

Food Safety

Vendors selling pre-packaged food products must practice safe food handling when preparing and packaging the food.

Food Measurement

By law, certain foods are required to be sold in specific counts, weights, or volumes. Vendors must abide by these requirements.

Food Packaging

The CBCM strives to operate in an eco-friendly manner. As such, the CBCM prohibits the use of styrofoam packaging and encourages vendors the use of recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable packaging.

By law, certain foods are required to be packaged in containers of specific styles and materials. Vendors must abide by these requirements.

Food Labelling

All pre-packaged food products offered for sale at the CBCM must be labelled in accordance with the requirements set by Farmers' Markets Ontario.

Each and every pre-packaged food item must include a label that includes the following information:

  • Vendor name
  • Vendor contact info (email, phone and/or address)
  • Common name of the food
  • Ingredients
  • Cooking instructions (if applicable)
  • Storage instructions (if applicable)
  • Date the food was prepared

Certain foods regulated by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) require additional information on their labels. The CBCM expects vendors to know about and to include this information on all applicable products.

 


Process for Selling Pre-Packaged Food at Markets

All food products will be inspected by CBCM staff at each market to ensure all of the required information is included on the labels.

If products are not labelled, these products must be removed from display until labels containing all of the required information are affixed to the products.

If labels are present but missing information, these labels must be amended to contain the required details before being returned to display.

Ottawa Public Health regularly visits the Market to conduct inspections and will review labels as part of their inspection process.

If a vendor repeatedly fails to comply with the food labelling regulations the vendor will no longer be able to sell food products through the CBCM.

Process for Selling Pre-Packaged Food Online and in Cheer Boxes

Approval:

Vendors must submit a photo or digital copy of their pre-packaged food product label upon being accepted for sale in the online shop and inclusion in Cheer Boxes. 

Notes for Label Submission:

  • Vendors may need to create and submit the text for their label before they make the actual product
  • Note that the focus for approval is that the label includes all of the required information – the design of the label, logos, etc. is not a concern
  • The final product label can look different as long as it has the required information and is easy to read

Inspection:

When vendors drop off the products for Cheer Box and/or shop orders pick-up, the labels will be inspected to ensure all of the required information is included.

If labels are present but missing some information the vendor must either:

  • legibly hand write the missing information on the existing label

or

  • legibly hand write & apply new/supplementary labels before the product is accepted

If labels are missing entirely the vendor must legibly hand write labels and apply them to the product before the product is accepted.

If a vendor repeatedly fails to comply with the food labelling regulations the vendor will no longer be able to sell food products through the CBCM.