Answer:
Fish and fish products are subject to the provisions of the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR), as well as those of the Food and Drugs Act (FDA) and the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR).
When sold intraprovincially, these products are subject to the labelling requirements under the FDA and FDR, as well as specific requirements of the SFCA and SFCR that apply to prepackaged foods sold in Canada, regardless of the level of trade. Provincial regulations may also have labelling requirements that apply when these products are sold within that province.
The labelling requirements detailed in the following section are specific to fish and fish products. Refer to the Industry Labelling Tool for core labelling and voluntary claims and statements requirements that apply to all prepackaged foods.
Common name - fish and fish products
CFIA fish list
Generic common names
Hermetically sealed fish products
Surimi
Fish oils
Prepackaged (definition) fish must be correctly and legibly labelled with the common name of the fish [218(1)(a), SFCR]. Refer to the Common Name and Legibility and Location pages of the Industry Labelling Tool for more information, including minimum type size and location requirements.
The common name of a fish product is [1, SFCR; B.01.001, B.01.006(1), FDR]:
The CFIA Fish List also provides a Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN) for each species, along with any associated hazards. Scientific names for fish species are verified with the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Anyone seeking an amendment (deletion or addition) to the CFIA Fish List may submit a request through the Ask CFIA website. Applications can be made in accordance with Section 5 of the Guidance on Determining the Common Names for Fish Sold or Processed in Canada.
Generic common names
Unless outlined in the Canadian Standards of Identity, Volume 3 – Fish, the use of generic names such as "fish fillets" or "fish portions" is not recommended when the product contains a single fish species. A name of the species should be incorporated into the common name, for example "haddock fillets", "cod portions".
If the product contains more than one species of fish, in most cases a generic name "fish" can be used in the common name provided that the species are indicated in the list of ingredients.
Labelling of Pacific Salmon
The name "Pacific Salmon" is not included as an acceptable common name in the CFIA Fish List due to the different market values of species of Pacific salmon. As described above, the common name should always include the name of the species, for example "chum salmon fillets" or "sockeye salmon portions". The statement "Pacific salmon" is permitted on the label only as additional information, but may not replace the common name.
Labelling of Seafood Mix Products
For a seafood mix product to be labelled as "Fruits de mer" in French, 100% of the mix should be small edible marine invertebrates with a shell at the time of harvest, i.e. crustaceans, echinoderms and molluscs of the classes Bivalvia and Gastropoda. Species from the Cephalopoda class do not have a protective shell and therefore are not included in the definition of "Fruits de mer." Examples of "Fruits de mer" includes, but is not limited to, clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, whelks, shrimp, sea urchins, lobster and crab.
In some instances, surimi-based products closely resemble more expensive seafood products, such as crab legs, shrimps, or scallops through flavouring and shaping. Surimi-based products that resemble these foods should be labelled and/or advertised to clearly show that they are imitations.
For example:
The common name identifies the term "artificial" or "simulated" or "imitation" (such as "artificial crab legs" and "imitation lobster meat"), or
The common name identifies the name of the species used in the product (such as "crab flavoured Alaskan pollock" and "lobster flavoured seafood made from whiting"), or
If various species were used, the common name refers to a generic name (such as "crab flavoured seafood" and "lobster flavoured kamaboko")
Fish oils
From a single species
If the oil has been extracted from a single species of fish or marine animal, the common name of the product should be the common name of the species, e.g. "halibut oil" or "seal oil".
