WHAT GETS CHECKED
Requirements differ by jurisdiction and by product category within a jurisdiction. A pack compliant in one market is rarely compliant in another without change. For Canadian natural health products specifically, the modernized label requirements are handled on our NHP Label Modernization page.
Mandatory statements, format and required wording.
Nutrition Facts, Supplement Facts or Supplemented Food Facts, built to the correct standard for the category.
Ingredient and allergen declarations, including contains and may-contain statements.
Net quantity, metric declaration and font size minimums.
Bilingual requirements for Canada, covering both panels and precedence.
Company name, address and responsible party details, including EU and UK responsible person obligations.
Licence and identification numbers where the market requires them.
Lot coding and expiry format.
Storage, warning and cautionary statements.
Country of origin.
BEYOND THE MANDATORY
01
Prominence and context
A compliant phrase can become non-compliant through size, placement or proximity to an image. Regulators read the pack as a whole, not as a list of approved elements.
02
The barcode
Retail and marketplace listing requires a GTIN issued through GS1 under your own company prefix. Barcodes bought secondhand from a reseller are a recurring and expensive problem, particularly on Amazon, where a mismatch between the barcode owner and the seller account blocks listing.
03
The gap between approval and print
An approved label document and the file the printer outputs are not the same artefact. Font substitutions, colour separations, bleed and last-minute layout edits all happen after sign-off. We review the final print file against the approved copy.
04
Panel space
Mandatory elements have minimum sizes and required positions. On small formats, sachets, single-serve, travel packs, the mandatory content often does not fit the design that was already approved. Better found early.
HOW WE WORK
Before design
We supply the mandatory content, the constraints and the panel requirements so the designer works to a brief that can actually be printed and sold.
On the artwork
A marked-up review of the proof, itemised by issue, with the required correction stated rather than described.
On the print file
A final check against the approved version before the run is committed.
MARKETS
Canada, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Australia each set their own mandatory content, format rules and language requirements. We review artwork against the framework that applies where it will be sold, and identify what has to change per market rather than producing one pack and hoping.
Bring us the proof, the market list and the product category. We will tell you what has to change, panel by panel, before the file is committed to a run.