Regulatory Amendments Relating to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
October 9, 2025 | 2 min to read
On October 8, 2025, the Government of Canada published amendments that ease rules for fresh produce by removing overly prescriptive labelling and mandatory grading for items destined for manufacturing, processing, or preserving, transferring some grade responsibilities to the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation, and updating grade requirements; the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has provided an overview, updated the Industry Labelling Tool, and will revise guidance and the AIRS.
On October 8, 2025, the Government of Canada published the Regulations Amending the Health of Animals Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (Reducing Red Tape and Supporting Resilience – Import Reference Document, Hatcheries, and Fresh Fruits and Vegetables) in the Canada Gazette, Part II.
For fresh fruits and vegetables, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) made these changes to the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations:
- removed overly prescriptive labelling requirements
- removed mandatory grading requirements for produce destined for manufacturing, processing or preserving
- transferred responsibility of certain grade requirements to the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation
- updated grade requirements
An overview of changes is available to help stakeholders navigate the changes. The CFIA updated the Industry Labelling Tool and will update other guidance documents and the Automated Import Reference System (AIRS).