WHAT HAS TO APPEAR TWICE
Mandatory content carries the bilingual requirement. Brand names, certain trademarks and some descriptive elements do not. Getting the line right matters in both directions: translating what does not need translating wastes panel space you cannot spare, and leaving out something that does is a compliance finding. The requirement also interacts with format rules, so equivalent prominence, legibility minimums and placement all apply to both languages.
WHERE IT GOES WRONG
01
Machine translation of regulated wording
Required statements, cautions and permitted claims have established French wording in the Canadian regulatory context. A literal translation of the English is frequently not the accepted term, and on claims it can change the meaning enough to change what is being claimed.
02
The panel no longer fits
Doubling mandatory content on a pack designed for one language is the single most common cause of a stalled Canadian launch. It is a structural problem discovered at artwork stage, after the pack format is committed.
03
Unequal prominence
French content set smaller, set in a lighter weight, or relegated to a back panel while the English sits on the front does not satisfy the requirement, even when the content itself is correct.
04
Partial bilingualism
The Product Facts or Nutrition Facts table handled correctly while directions, cautions or storage statements remain English-only. Partial compliance reads as an oversight to everyone except the inspector.
WHAT WE DO
The obligation is not met by an accurate translation. It is met by the wording, prominence and placement the Canadian market expects, on a panel that still has room for it.
Identification of which elements carry the bilingual obligation for your product category.
French wording for mandatory statements, cautions, directions and storage, using the terminology accepted in the Canadian regulatory context.
Claim translation checked against what is permitted in French, not only what is accurate.
Panel space assessment and options where the content does not fit the existing format.
Prominence, legibility and placement review across both languages.
Printer-ready markup.
Review of the final print file before the run.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Usually someone entering Canada.
United States and European brands whose existing pack was never built for a second language, Canadian brands whose labels predate current format requirements, and any product moving into Quebec retail, where language obligations extend beyond the pack to other commercial communications. For natural health products specifically, the bilingual Product Facts Table requirement applies across the board, and that work is covered on our NHP Label Modernization page.
A short conversation is usually enough to establish what has to appear twice, whether it will fit, and what the artwork needs to change before print.