Plant-Based Foods of Canada introduces Certified Plant-Based program

Plant-Based Foods of Canada (PBFC) announced that the Certified Plant-Based program is now available to companies in Canada.

The Certified Plant Based protocol, which is owned by the U.S.-based Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) focuses on plant-based alternatives to animal-based foods and specifies the criteria required to make a certified plant-based food claim. NSF International serves as the certifying agency, supporting the program.

Foods eligible for certification include meat alternatives such as plant-based meat, poultry, and fish; egg substitutes; milk alternatives; and other dairy alternatives such as plant-based cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream.

Changing consumer attitudes, innovation and new entrants to the plant-based foods category have driven strong growth over the last few years. Research conducted by PBFC indicated that the term “plant-based” reinforced to consumers that the products were not from animal sources.

According to Nielsen, the plant-based foods category in Canada was valued at $412 million at the end of 2018 with growth of 11 per cent.  The introduction of this program will only accelerate this growth, supporting transparency and a clear standard for industry to follow when making a plant-based declaration.

Since launching in 2018, PBFC has played a role in shaping the development of regulatory discussion about the plant-based food industry in Canada, including regular presentations to government, thought leadership at industry events and analysis of emerging issues and trends.