Appendix A
Introduction
This appendix is organized by categories in alphabetical order to help you quickly find information on your topic of interest.
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) does not endorse the information nor promote the use of any consultant or firm contained in this appendix. OMAFRA does not verify any qualifications, representations or claims made by the individuals or corporations listed. The appendix is provided free of charge and for information purposes only and is not intended to be exhaustive. It is the responsibility of the person using this resource to conduct their own research to determine how this information will help them grow their business.
In addition to the resources and information provided below, please refer to OMAFRA’s Program Services for Food and Beverage Manufacturers factsheet to learn about the various program and services available for food and beverage manufacturers in Ontario.
Self-assessment and start-up assistance
The following organizations and websites provide information that can help you assess your entrepreneurial skills and business readiness as well as provide guidance on where to source general business start-up information.
Self-assessment
- Small business: advice, support services, regulations
- Ontario Small Business Enterprise Centres
- Steps to starting a business in Canada
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Entrepreneurial potential self-assessment
- Community Futures Development Corporation
- My Own Business Institute
Startup assistance
- Indigenous business development toolkit
- Indigenous Services Canada
- Futurpreneur
- Insurance Bureau of Canada - Business insurance
- Insurance Bureau of Canada - Risk Management
Business plan resources and business incubators
The following organizations and websites provide useful information for researching and writing your business plan.
- Small business: advice, support services, regulations
- Business and industry - Government of Canada
- Business plan template
- LivePlan (business planning software)
- Guide to business planning
- MaRS Startup Toolkit
- Summer Company Business Plan Template
- The 5 Steps to Starting a Business
- Small Business Banking
Commercial kitchens
- York region food and beverage accelerator (Markham)
- Kitchen Collective (Hamilton)
- The Grove (London)
- Manning Canning Kitchens (Toronto)
- Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre (Colborne)
- Kitchens to rent by the hour - Alimentary Initiatives (Milton, Oakville and East York)
Finance
The following organizations and websites provide information to help you access financing for your food business.
Chartered banks — major banks in Canada
Credit unions in Ontario
Government financial institutions
- Farm Credit Canada
- Business Development Bank of Canada
- Export Development Canada
- Canadian Commercial Corporation
- Community Futures Ontario
Other business financing
- Canadian Venture Capital Association
- Canadian Financing and Leasing Association
- National Angel Capital Organization
Food safety, traceability and recall
The following organizations and websites provide useful information to help you with food safety, traceability and recall programs for your food business.
Information regarding food safety at the federal level
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
- Information for consumers - food allergies and allergen labelling
- Food safety for industry
- Food safety standards and guidelines
- Food recall warnings and allergy alerts
- Recall processes
- List of ingredients and allergens on food labels
- Health Canada
- A guide for voluntary recall of consumer products or cosmetics in Canada
- Food-borne illness in Canada
Regulations and services
The following organizations and websites provide information to help you ensure your business meets the required regulations for your food business.
Federal food safety regulations
Other federal government regulations and services
Industry Canada
- Find an authorized service provider
- Measurement Canada
- Mandatory examination frequencies by sector and device type
Provincial food safety regulations
Ontario: e-laws
Other provincial government regulations and services
- Ontario e-laws
- OMAFRA homepage
- Milk and Milk Products - Ontario Regulation 761
- Environmental permissions
- Publications Ontario
- Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario
Municipal regulations
Industry
US regulations
Human resources and training
The following organizations and websites provide information to help you plan your human resources needs, recruitment and training plans.
Human resources
- Agriculture and food jobs in Ontario
- Jobs and employment
- Hiring and managing employees
- Payroll deductions and remittances
- Small businesses and self-employed income
- Food Processing Skills Canada
- Wages: open government
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Human resources management
Recruitment
Foreign workers recruitment
- Find a job in Ontario
- Hire a Temporary Foreign Worker
- Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)
- Work permit information
Education and Training Education
Find job opportunities, careers and training in the agriculture, agri-food and food industry — see the Government of Ontario’s Agriculture and food jobs in Ontario webpage.
General training
Food- and beverage-specific training
- Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium
- Events - International Dairy Foods Association
- International Dairy Deli Bakery
Occupational health and safety
- Workplace health and safety
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
- Labour Program
- Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
- Workplace Safety and Prevention Services
Industry overview
The following organizations and websites provide helpful information and statistics on the food and beverage manufacturing sectors.
- Food processing industry
- Agriculture and food statistics
- Food and beverage - Canadian Manufacturing
- Euromonitor International
- Mintel Database
- Food and Beverage Ontario
- Edge by Ascential
Information technology
The following websites provide information on how to use information technology to help you get connected to your customers as well as protecting personal information from becoming compromised.
Labelling requirements
The following organizations and websites provide information related to labelling requirements for Canada and the United States.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
- List of ingredients and allergens on food labels
- Basic labelling
- Bilingual food labelling
- Food labelling for industry
- "Product of Canada" and "Made in Canada" claims
- Health claims on food labels
- Nutrition labelling toolkit
- Nutrient content claims
- Origin claims on food labels
Health Canada
Other resources
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development - Alberta
- GS1 Canada
- GS1 US
- PACGlobal
- Standards Council of Canada
Labelling in the United States
Food labelling software
Marketing
The following organizations and websites provide resources to help with planning your marketing and advertising campaign.
- Foodland Ontario
- Advertising Standards Canada (ASC)
- Canada Brand
- Marketing and sales techniques
- Direct mail and ad-mail
- CARDonline
Publications
Additional marketing resources and support
- Canadian Agri-Marketing Association
- Canadian Grocery Retail Guide: Costing programs and pricing strategies
- Canadian Marketing Association
- Canadian Professional Sales Association
- Direct Sellers Association of Canada
- Greenbelt Foundation
- GS1 Canada
Networking
The following organizations and websites provide information which will help you network and make the right connections for your food business.
Organizations
- Small Business Enterprise Centre locations
- Family Enterprise Canada
- Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
- Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Product development
The following organizations and websites provide information to help you with product development and food preservation and processing.
Lab and testing services
- Compusense
- sensory evaluation, product development, investigative quality control services, time-intensity research
- Contract Testing Inc.
- consumer product testing, focus groups, sensory quality maintenance programs
- Lipid Analytical Laboratories Inc.
- analysis and research on lipids (fats)
- Bureau Veritas North America
- nutritional labelling, chemical analysis, microbiological testing, shelf-life studies, residual testing, foreign matter identification, environmental testing, allergen testing, natural health product testing
- Guelph Food Innovation Centre (GFIC) - Department of Food Science - University of Guelph
- technical support in product development
- Merieux NutriSciences (Silliker Labs Canada Co.)
- chemical and microbiological analysis, nutritional labelling, quality assurance programs, shelf-life studies, process improvement (GMPs), sensory evaluation, packaging, allergen control, authenticity testing, restaurant menu labelling
- NSF International, formerly Guelph Food Technology Centre (GFTC)
- food analysis, food safety, commodities research, fermentation, packaging, consumer studies, nutrition research, shelf-life testing, label compliance, chemistry and microbiology testing, and research and development lab services
- The Food Development Group
- technical support in product development, shelf life testing, nutritional labelling
- University of Guelph Laboratory Services — Agriculture and Food Laboratory
- microbiology and allergen testing, molecular analysis, foreign contaminants identification, residue testing, dairy testing services, custom testing, shelf life and challenge studies, test method development
- Buyers Guide: Food in Canada
- PACGlobal
- Thomasnet
- Scientific Research and Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program
- Supply Chain Management Association
- Canadian Intellectual Property Office
Food preservation and processing
Research sources
The following organizations and websites provide information to help you develop your marketing plans, strategic direction plans and identify your target markets.
Federal government
- Marketing and sales techniques
- Industry/sector data
- Find your industry sector
- National Research Council Canada
- Invest Ontario Employment and Infrastructure
Industry
- Nielsen
- Canadian Trade Index: Canadian industry suppliers and their products
- Family Business (US lists)
- Forbes
- Fraser’s Online Canadian Industrial Directory
- Canadian Business
- Thomasnet: Find your supplier
- Times 100 UK - Business case studies
Libraries specializing in government publications
- Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library
- National Research Council Canada
- Statistics Canada publications
- University of Guelph Library
Paid food product databases
Retail
The following organizations and websites provide information on how to get your products listed in retail stores.
- Careers in grocery
- Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers
- Canadian Grocer
- Canadian Grocer Magazine
- Restaurants Canada
- Monday Retail IQ
- Food broker: distributor information sheet
- Global Agricultural Information Network
- Retail Council of Canada
- Canada: retail foods
- The CSCA Retail 100
- Directory of agents/brokers in central Canada
Sustainability and CSR programs
The following websites provide information to help you know more about sustainability and CSR.
- S&P Global
- Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium
- Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative
- Energy efficiency
- Provision Coalition
- Partners in Project Green
- Supplier sustainability
Sustainability and CSR certifications
Standards of production — input suppliers
Company and product standards
Leading retailers — committed to sustainability and CSR
Trade journals
The following list of trade journals will help you find general industry information as well as information specific to the food industry and its sub-sectors.
General
Food industry
- Canadian Grocer
- Canadian Manufacturing: Food in Canada
- The Food Institute Report (US)
- Food Processing (US)
- Food Technology
- Foodservice and Hospitality
- Gourmet News (US)
- The Gourmet Retailer (US)
- International Food
- Ontario restaurant news
- Packaging Digest (US)
- Prepared Foods (US)
- Progressive Grocer
- Western Grocer and Restaurant
- Whole Foods Magazine
- Bakers Journal
- Beverage World (US)
- Canadian Poultry
- Dairy Foods (US)
- Manufacturing Confectioner (US)
- Oils and Fats International (UK)
- Perishable Pundit (US)
- Produce Business (US)
- Sosland Publishing
For more information:
Toll-free:
Email: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca