The Canadian Food Inspection Agency prevents more than 150,000 kg of misrepresented food from being sold in Canada

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) tackles food fraud so consumers can be confident the food they buy is safe and accurately represented and businesses can compete fairly in the market.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) tackles food fraud so consumers can be confident the food they buy is safe and accurately represented and businesses can compete fairly in the market. 

Today, the CFIA published its latest Food Fraud Annual Report, outlining the Agency’s ongoing efforts to prevent, detect and deter false, misleading and deceptive practices related to the preparation, labelling, sale and advertising of food.

As part of this work, the CFIA conducted targeted testing for authenticity and accurate representation across a range of products, including fish, honey, maple syrup, meat, various oils, grated hard cheese, tea, and fruit juice. Inspectors also reviewed food labels for inaccurate, misleading, or missing information.

When non-compliance was found, the CFIA acted swiftly to protect consumers, preventing more than 150,000 kg of misrepresented food from being sold in Canada. These products were either removed from Canada, voluntarily destroyed, recalled, or relabelled before reaching the market.

To address evolving risks, the CFIA focuses on products most susceptible to food fraud and adapts its sampling strategies in response to new intelligence. Notably, net quantity verifications for meat were added this year to address the concerns about misweighed meat products. The next report will include results from advertisement reviews focusing on false or misleading in-store Canadian content claims. This is expected to be available in late 2026.

Everyone has a role to play in combatting food fraud. Industry is responsible for accurately representing and labelling food products and providing consumers with information that is truthful and not misleading. Canadians who suspect a food product is not properly represented can report their concerns to the CFIA.