Farmers' market food labels in Canada: what you still need

Short answer

CFIA exempts food from the Nutrition Facts table only when the maker sells it at a farmers' market, roadside stand or craft show.
That exemption does not cover the rest of the label: common name, net quantity, ingredients, allergens, name and address, and dates can still apply.
You lose the Nutrition Facts exemption if you make a nutrition or health claim, or add vitamins or minerals.
The CFIA exemption pages we read show no exemption based on sales or revenue.
This is general information, not legal advice; check CFIA's Industry Labelling Tool and your province's rules.

In this guide (9 sections)

Is food sold at a farmers' market exempt from labelling in Canada?
Is there a small-business or revenue exemption?
What you still need on a farmers' market label
How do you lose the exemption?
Worked example: two sellers at the same market
Do market labels have to be bilingual?
Fitting it on a small jar label
Beyond the label: other rules may apply
What to check before you act

If you make food and sell it yourself at a farmers' market in Canada, CFIA exempts it from the Nutrition Facts table. That is the only big item the market exemption removes. If your food is prepackaged, the common name, net quantity, ingredients and allergens, your name and address, and the date rules generally still apply, and mandatory text is still expected in English and French.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Check your product in CFIA's Industry Labelling Tool and ask your province or local health authority what permits you need to sell.

Is food sold at a farmers' market exempt from labelling in Canada?

Not entirely. CFIA's nutrition labeling exemptions page (modified April 14, 2025, checked October 23, 2026) lists "direct-sale venues" among the exemptions that can be lost. The conditions are:

The food is sold only by the person who made it.
It is sold only at a roadside stand, craft show, flea market, fair, farmers' market or sugar bush.

CFIA adds that products from other companies sold at these venues are not exempt. If you buy jars from a friend and resell them at your table, the friend's product needs its full label, including Nutrition Facts unless another exemption applies.

The exemption is about the Nutrition Facts table. It sits on the nutrition labeling page, not on the pages for ingredients, dates or bilingual labeling. Nothing we read on those other pages carves out farmers' markets.

Is there a small-business or revenue exemption?

We found none. The CFIA exemptions page lists exemptions by type of food, package size and way of selling. It does not mention annual sales, revenue or number of employees. It is a common assumption among market sellers, but being small is not, by itself, an exemption.

What you still need on a farmers' market label

The table below compares what CFIA's core checklist asks for with what the direct-sale exemption changes.

Label item	Still required at a market stall?	Notes from CFIA
Common name	Yes, if prepackaged	On the principal display panel, at least 1.6 mm high
Net quantity	Generally yes	Metric, bold, minimum height by display surface; some exemptions exist for foods exempt from labeling
Ingredient list	Yes, if more than one ingredient	Descending order by weight; not on the bottom panel
Allergens, gluten, sulphites	Yes	In the list or a "Contains / Contient" statement
Name and principal place of business	Yes	English or French
Best before date	If durable life is 90 days or less	"Best before / meilleur avant", year-month-day order
Storage instructions	If not kept at room temperature	For example "Keep refrigerated / Garder réfrigéré"
Nutrition Facts table	No, if you made it and sell it only at these venues	Lost with nutrition or health claims or added vitamins and minerals
English and French	Generally yes	Local food exemption is narrow

Some foods are exempt from parts of this list for other reasons. Fresh fruit and vegetables, for example, are exempt from date markings and always exempt from the Nutrition Facts table. Single-ingredient foods don't need an ingredient list. Check each item for your product in the Industry Labelling Tool.

How do you lose the exemption?

CFIA lists conditions that cancel the "usually exempt" exemptions, which include direct-sale venues. In plain terms, you lose it if:

you add a vitamin or mineral, or declare one as part of an ingredient (other than flour);
your label or advertising mentions energy or nutrients, for example "low sugar" or "high in fiber";
you make a health claim or a function claim;
you use a health-related name, symbol, seal or logo, including in a trademark;
you use the words "nutrition facts" or "valeur nutritive" on the label or in ads.

CFIA says gluten-free and other allergen-free claims alone don't count. Note the word "advertising": a nutrient claim on your market sign or social media post could matter, not just the jar.

Worked example: two sellers at the same market

Here are two invented stalls to show how the rules split.

	Seller A: bakes her own granola	Seller B: resells honey from another producer
Who made it?	The seller	Another business
Direct-sale Nutrition Facts exemption	Yes, if no claims and no added vitamins or minerals	No, CFIA says other companies' products are not exempt
Ingredient list	Yes (oats, honey, almonds and so on)	Single ingredient, so usually no list
Allergen declaration	Yes: almond, and oats as a gluten source	Check whether any applies
Best before date	Depends on the durable life she sets	Depends on the product
Country of origin	Check food-specific rules for each ingredient category	Honey is a category CFIA flags for food-specific origin rules

If Seller A prints "high in fiber" on her bag, she would lose the Nutrition Facts exemption and need a full bilingual table.

Do market labels have to be bilingual?

Usually. CFIA's bilingual page allows a local food exemption, but only if the food is sold solely in the local government unit where it was made and units immediately next to it, and one official language is the mother tongue of fewer than 10% of residents there. The label must then be in the language that is the mother tongue of at least 10%. If both languages are above 10%, or both are below, the exemption does not apply.

Read more in bilingual food labels in Canada.

Fitting it on a small jar label

A 2" round or 2" square sticker leaves little room once you add two languages. Many makers split the label: the common name and net quantity on a front sticker, and the ingredients, allergens, address and date on a back or side label. Remember that the ingredient list cannot go on the bottom panel, while a best before date can, as long as the label says where to find it.

For type heights, see net quantity font size in Canada. For date wording, see the best before date format. For sticker sizes, see square and round product labels, and for the full list of label elements, our Canadian food label checklist.

Beyond the label: other rules may apply

CFIA's checklist notes that other federal and provincial rules may apply. Selling food from home or at markets often involves provincial or municipal food safety permits, which this page does not cover. Your market organizer or local public health unit can usually tell you what applies in your area.

What to check before you act

Confirm you are the maker and sell only at the venues CFIA names before relying on the Nutrition Facts exemption.
Remove nutrient or health wording from labels, signs and posts, or plan for a full Nutrition Facts table.
Run each product through CFIA's Industry Labelling Tool.
Ask your province or local health unit about permits for home-made or market food.
Re-check CFIA's "date modified" on each page before printing; dates here were checked October 23, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do I need a Nutrition Facts table to sell at a farmers' market in Canada?

Not if you made the food yourself and sell it only at venues such as a farmers' market, roadside stand or craft show, according to CFIA. The exemption is lost if the label or advertising makes a nutrition or health claim or the food has added vitamins or minerals.

Are small food businesses exempt from labelling in Canada?

The CFIA exemption pages we checked list no revenue or size-of-business exemption. Exemptions depend on the food, the package and where and by whom it is sold.

Can I resell someone else's jam at my market stall without a Nutrition Facts table?

CFIA says products from other companies sold at these venues are not exempt. The direct-sale exemption is only for the person who made the food.

Do farmers' market labels need to be in French?

Generally yes for mandatory information on consumer prepackaged food. A local food exemption exists, but only where one official language is the mother tongue of less than 10% of local residents and the food stays in that area and adjacent ones.

Does a gluten-free claim cancel the Nutrition Facts exemption?

CFIA says gluten-free and other allergen-free claims alone do not count as nutritional or health-related claims for this purpose. Nutrient content claims such as low fat would.

General information only, not legal or regulatory advice. Template details and rules change; confirm on the maker's or regulator's own page before you print a large run. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Sources

Nutrition labelling: exemptions (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)checked October 23, 2026
Food labelling requirements checklist (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)checked October 23, 2026
Bilingual food labelling (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)checked October 23, 2026
List of ingredients and allergens (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)checked October 23, 2026
Date markings and storage instructions (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)checked October 23, 2026
Industry Labelling Tool (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)checked October 23, 2026