When you can use the Canada Organic logo and the 95% rule
A food may carry the Canada Organic logo only if it is certified organic. Multi-ingredient foods also need at least 95 percent organic content.
Canada Organic logo rules for food labels
A food may carry the Canada Organic logo only if it is certified organic and, for a multi-ingredient food, at least 95% of its contents are organic products (SFCR s. 359). The logo is voluntary. An imported product that uses it still needs "Product of [country]" or "Imported" close to the logo (SFCR s. 354).
Where the rules come from
Organic labelling sits in Part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR, SOR/2018-108) (Justice Laws). It covers an organic claim on food sold between provinces or territories, or imported, and a Canada organic label that shows the logo, even inside one province (CFIA). With no logo, a product sold only in its province of origin sits outside Part 13, but the Food and Drugs Act and the Safe Food for Canadians Act still bar false or misleading claims (CFIA, organic claims). Cosmetics, pet food, natural health products, and cannabis plants and their cultivation are outside the scope of Part 13 (CFIA, organic products).
The 95% rule and the 70% tier
| Organic content | Logo | "Organic" claim | What you can say |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95% or more | Yes | Yes | "Organic" |
| 70% to under 95% | No | No | "contains X% organic ingredients" |
| Under 70% | No | No | Organic ingredients named only in the ingredient list |
For a multi-ingredient food, the first two tiers have to be certified (CFIA). The 95% line for "organic" and similar terms is in s. 353(1). A multi-ingredient food can be certified only if at least 70% of its contents are organic (s. 345(1)(d)). In the middle tier, put the percentage immediately before "organic ingredients", round it down to a whole number, and set those words in characters of the same height and prominence as the percentage (s. 353(2)). The CFIA does not permit "100% organic (product name)" and does not accept "made with organic ingredients" (CFIA).
How the percentage is calculated
Section 343 points to CAN/CGSB-32.310 (SFCR). The 2026 edition counts solids by net mass and liquids by fluid volume, excluding water and salt (clause 9.1.3). On a mixed product, exclude water and salt added in production, not water and salt already in received ingredients. Round down (clause 9.1.4). The same ingredient cannot be both organic and non-organic (clause 9.2.1) (CAN/CGSB-32.310-2026). So 94.8% is 94%, and no logo.
What an organic label must show
If the label uses an "organic" claim or a percentage-of-organic-ingredients claim under Part 13, s. 354 requires:
- the certification body's name (for an import, that body or the foreign-accredited entity)
- organic ingredients marked as organic in the ingredient list, on a multi-ingredient food
- for imported food with the logo, "Product of" or "produit de" immediately before the country of origin, or "Imported" or "importé", close to the logo
"Certified by", "certified organic by" and "organic certified" are fine if the certifier's name follows at once. An abbreviation works if it identifies the body. "Certified organic" alone is misleading. A product with the logo still needs that name (CFIA).
The organic claim, the ingredient markings and the import statement must be in English and French. Feeds, seeds, and foods that Food and Drug Regulations B.01.012(3), (7) or (11) allow in one language are exempt (SFCR s. 355). The certifier's name does not have to be bilingual (CFIA).
Imported products and the origin statement
The logo shows a maple leaf and the words "Canada Organic", so an import needs an origin line. The product is imported for this rule only if it was wholly produced and processed outside Canada. Packaging or labelling in Canada does not change that (CFIA, imported organic products).
The importer must show a certificate on request (s. 357). Certification can be under the SFCR, under an equivalency arrangement with the exporting country, or, if that country has none, by a body accredited by a country that does, on that arrangement's terms.
These nine arrangements allow the logo when the Canadian conditions are also met: Costa Rica, the European Union, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. South Korea covers processed products only. A US certificate, not the label, must say "Certified in accordance with the terms of the US-Canada Organic Equivalency Arrangement" (CFIA).
Logo colours
Schedule 9 is the organic symbol: black on white, black on transparent, or colour. In colour, the borders and hills are green (Pantone 368), the maple leaf is red (Pantone 186) and the lettering is black, on white or transparent (SFCR Schedule 9). The ring reads "Canada Organic" and "Biologique Canada" (CFIA). For the Canada Organic logo vector file, ask your certifier (CFIA).
Standards and provincial rules
CAN/CGSB-32.310-2026 and 32.311-2026, published in March 2026, replace the 2020 editions (CFIA standards). Certification bodies may allow up to 12 months after publication for changed requirements (CFIA operating manual). Your certifier has to confirm the deadline. CFIA posted corrections on 24 September 2026.
Provincial organic requirements apply in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Quebec (CFIA).
To check the cited SFCR sections for a specific product, see RegAffairs AI's answer page.