Front-of-package symbol
The front-of-package symbol is in beta and is only available on Canadian labels.
Health Canada requires a front-of-package (FOP) nutrition symbol on most prepackaged foods that are high in saturated fat, sugars, or sodium. The symbol is the black-and-white magnifying glass with the words "High in" (or "Élevé en") and the nutrients it applies to. Nutritionist Pro works out whether your label needs the symbol, and generates the artwork for you when it does.
Opening the FOP symbol tab
The FOP symbol tab appears in the label editor when the label's region is Canada. Open a label with Edit Food Label, then choose the FOP symbol tab at the end of the tab strip. The tab appears as soon as you select Canada on the Label type tab, and disappears if you switch the label to another region.
What has to be in place first
The evaluation reads the saved label, so the following must be set before the symbol can be evaluated:
- A food or recipe attached to the label.
- A serving weight (the metric equivalent) on the Serving tab.
- A reference amount on the Serving tab.
If any of these are missing, the tab lists what to complete instead of showing a result. Fill in the missing items on the Serving tab and come back.
How the evaluation works
Three nutrients are tested against the daily values used for the front-of-package rules: saturated fat (20 g), sugars (100 g), and sodium (2300 mg). Each one is measured both per serving and per reference amount, and the higher of the two percentages is compared against the threshold.
The threshold depends on the reference amount and on whether the product is a main dish:
- 10% of the daily value when the reference amount is 30 g or 30 mL or less.
- 15% of the daily value for everything else.
- 30% of the daily value for a main dish with a reference amount of 200 g or 200 mL or more.
Select the main dish checkbox on the FOP symbol tab if the label is for a main dish. The setting is saved with the label and the evaluation runs again.
The percentage table on the tab shows each nutrient's percent daily value per serving and per reference amount, and marks it as High or OK. A note below the table records which threshold was applied and the reference amount it was based on.
The comparison uses the unrounded percentage, so a nutrient can trip the threshold even when the rounded percent daily value on the nutrition facts table sits just below it.
The symbol
If none of the three nutrients reaches the threshold, the tab tells you that no symbol is required for this label.
If at least one nutrient reaches it, the symbol is drawn in the preview with those nutrients listed in the regulatory order: saturated fat, sugars, then sodium. The language follows the label's language, so an English label gets the English symbol, a French label gets "Élevé en", and a bilingual label gets the bilingual symbol.
Downloading the symbol
When a symbol is required, choose PNG, JPG, PDF, or SVG under Download the symbol. PNG and JPG are rasters rendered at print resolution, SVG is true vector artwork, and the PDF holds the symbol on a single page sized to it. The file is named after the label.
Some products are exempt from the nutrition symbol, for example plain milk, vegetables and fruit, certain fats and oils sold as ingredients, and very small packages. Nutritionist Pro does not check exemptions. Confirm whether your product is exempt with the Health Canada industry guide.