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

OTTAWA, ON, June 25, 2026 /CNW/ - 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.

Quotes

"Protecting Canadians from food fraud is about ensuring trust in the food on our tables and fairness for the farmers, producers and processors who play by the rules. This report demonstrates that our government is taking concrete action to stop misrepresented food from being sold in Canada and to uphold the integrity of our food system."

– The Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"Food fraud takes advantage of consumers. Through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada, our government is working to address food misrepresentation so Canadians can be confident the food they buy is honestly represented and they get what they paid for."

– The Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health

Quick facts

• The 2024-25 annual report includes results from 886 samples tested for authenticity. Compliance rates were:
  • fish species substitution: 90%
  • fruit juice adulteration: 88%
  • grated hard cheese adulteration: 84%
  • honey adulteration: 81%
  • maple syrup adulteration:100%
  • meat species substitution: 94%
  • olive oil adulteration: 67%
  • other expensive oils adulteration: 86%
  • fresh meat and tea tested for the non-permitted use of food additives as adulterants: 100%
• CFIA inspectors also checked food labels for inaccurate, misleading and missing information. Compliance rates were:
  • organic fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables: 100%
  • expensive oils: 69%
  • fish: 63%
  • grated hard cheese: 80%
  • other foods: 74%
• Net quantity was also verified. Compliance rates were:
  • fish: 84%
  • meat: 92%
  • other foods: 73%
• Canadian law prohibits the labelling, packaging, treating, processing, selling or advertising of any food in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive to consumers regarding the character, value, quantity, composition, merit or safety of the product.
• As part of the CFIA's commitment to enforcement transparency, the names of companies subject to enforcement action are publicly available on our website.

Associated links

• Food fraud
• Food Policy for Canada
• Open Government Portal

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Each day, hard-working Canadian Food Inspection Agency employees--including inspectors, veterinarians, and scientists--inspect food for safety risks, work to protect plants from pests and invasive species, and respond to animal diseases that could threaten Canada's animal resource base and human health. Guided by science-based decision-making and modern regulations, the Agency verifies that food sold in Canada is safe while supporting access to international markets for our high-quality agricultural products. To learn more, visit inspection.canada.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Contacts: Media Relations, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 613-773-6600, [email protected]