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Selling kitchenware and food contact articles in Canada

In Canada, kitchenware sold to consumers is a consumer product under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, administered by Health Canada. Glazed ceramics and glassware have lead and cadmium release limits, kettles a lead release limit, and polycarbonate baby bottles containing BPA are prohibited. Food packaging falls under Division 23 of the Food and Drug Regulations.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

General safety
Canada Consumer Product Safety Act
Glazed ceramics and glass
Lead and cadmium release limits by product category
Kettles
No more than 0.01 ppm lead released
Banned
Polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A
Food packaging
B.23.001, Food and Drug Regulations
Warnings
In English and French

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is it glazed or decorated ceramic or glass with lead or cadmium, used for food? Read more
  2. 2Is it a kettle, and does it release lead into boiled water? Read more
  3. 3Is it a baby bottle or other product for small children? Read more
  4. 4Is it packaging that food will be sold in? Read more
  5. 5Are records kept and incidents reported under the CCPSA? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Glazed ceramics, glassware and kettles

Release limits for lead and cadmium.

  • The Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations cover ceramic or glass products with a coating, glaze or decoration containing lead or cadmium, where use to store, prepare or serve food is reasonably foreseeable.
  • Lead release limits are 3.0 mg/L for flatware, 2.0 for small hollowware, 1.0 for large hollowware, and 0.5 for cups, mugs and pitchers; cadmium limits are 0.50 or 0.25 mg/L by category, tested by a method based on ISO 6486-1:2019.
  • Drinking vessels with an exterior decorative pattern within 20 mm of the rim may not release more than 4 mg/L lead or 0.4 mg/L cadmium from the rim area.
  • A product not intended for food may exceed the limits if a design feature such as a hole makes it unsuitable for food, or it carries a permanent bilingual warning such as "DANGER! CONTAINS LEAD — CONTIENT DU PLOMB / DO NOT USE FOR FOOD — NE PAS UTILISER POUR LES ALIMENTS", in capitals at least 3 mm high.
  • A household kettle must not release more than 0.01 ppm lead into water boiled in it, under the test in the Kettles Regulations.

How we help: Upload the lab report and Compliant Always reads each lead and cadmium result against the limit for that product category, with the regulation beside it. Ask about this

Baby bottles and children's articles

Prohibitions and limits for products used by small children.

  • Polycarbonate baby bottles that contain bisphenol A may not be manufactured, imported, advertised or sold (Schedule 2, CCPSA).
  • Devices that position feeding bottles so babies feed themselves unattended are also prohibited (Schedule 2, CCPSA).
  • Products brought into contact with the user's mouth in normal use are covered by the lead limit of 90 mg/kg in accessible parts, but kitchen utensils and products under the Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations are excluded.
  • Vinyl in child care articles, which include products for feeding a child under four, may contain no more than 1,000 mg/kg of DEHP, DBP or BBP.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the material declarations and test reports for each children's article and flags any material on a prohibited list. Ask about this

Food packaging

Packaging that food is sold in.

  • No person shall sell any food in a package that may yield to its contents any substance that may be injurious to the health of a consumer (B.23.001, FDR).
  • Health Canada says the food seller is responsible for the safety of packaging material; specific information is provided to Health Canada only for packaging of infant formula, foods for special dietary use and novel foods.
  • Packaging materials can be submitted voluntarily to Health Canada's Food Directorate for a premarket assessment; a favourable opinion is a letter of no objection, which is not an approval in a legal sense.
  • Recycled plastics in food packaging are subject to the same rules as virgin plastics.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps suppliers' letters of no objection and declarations with each product, dated, and shows which material has none. Ask about this

General safety, records and incidents

The CCPSA duties behind every consumer product.

  • No manufacturer or importer may manufacture, import, advertise or sell a consumer product that is a danger to human health or safety (section 7, CCPSA).
  • Businesses keep records of who supplied and who received the product for six years, and report incidents to Health Canada within two days of becoming aware of them.
  • Prepackaged products show identity, metric net quantity and dealer details under the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps supplier and customer records for each product and lot, so an incident report is answered from the record. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
ManufacturerMeeting the release limits, warnings and general safety duty.Test reports and warnings kept with each product and production lot.
ImporterSafety of what it imports, records and incident reports.Suppliers' lead and cadmium reports read before goods arrive.
Food business using the packagingPackaging that does not yield harmful substances to food (B.23.001).Packaging suppliers' letters and declarations in one place.

Provinces and territories

The federal Acts and regulations in these guides apply across Canada. Provincial regulations may add labelling requirements for products sold within a province, and Quebec has additional requirements on the use of French on products marketed there.

Alcohol is largely provincial: provincial and territorial liquor boards set their own requirements, and liquor imported into a province is consigned to the provincial body authorised to sell it.

Questions businesses ask

Are there lead limits for ceramic dishes in Canada?
Yes. Glazed ceramics and glassware with lead or cadmium in the glaze or decoration, used for food, have release limits: for lead, 3.0 mg/L for flatware down to 0.5 mg/L for cups, mugs and pitchers.
What are the cadmium limits for tableware in Canada?
0.50 mg/L for flatware, small hollowware and cups or mugs, and 0.25 mg/L for large hollowware and pitchers, under the Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations.
Can decorative ceramics that exceed the limits be sold?
Yes, if not intended for food and either made unsuitable for food by a design feature such as a hole, or permanently marked with a bilingual warning not to use for food, in capitals at least 3 mm high.
Are kettles regulated in Canada?
Yes. A household kettle must not release more than 0.01 ppm of lead into water boiled in it for 15 minutes, under the Kettles Regulations.
Are BPA baby bottles banned in Canada?
Yes. Polycarbonate baby bottles that contain bisphenol A are listed in Schedule 2 to the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and may not be manufactured, imported, advertised or sold.
Does food packaging need approval in Canada?
No general approval is required. The seller must not sell food in packaging that may yield harmful substances. Suppliers can ask Health Canada for a voluntary letter of no objection, which is not a legal approval.
Does a letter of no objection expire?
No. Health Canada treats it as valid while the composition and intended use stay as described, and the manufacturer must report changes that may affect it.
Are kitchen utensils covered by the lead regulations for consumer products?
The Consumer Products Containing Lead Regulations cover products brought into contact with the mouth in normal use, but exclude kitchen utensils and products covered by the Glazed Ceramics and Glassware Regulations.
Do kitchenware sellers report incidents in Canada?
Yes. Under section 14 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, manufacturers, importers and sellers give Health Canada information on an incident within two days of becoming aware of it.
How does Compliant Always help with selling in Canada?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including Canada's federal rules and the bilingual labelling they share. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product, keeps the documents behind each one ready, and watches the sources for changes. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in Canada and what your paperwork needs to show.

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