Pascal Th茅riault warns consumers to be on the lookout for misleading Canadian labels

Canned soup giant Campbell's has come under fire for engaging in "maple washing" 鈥� a marketing tactic where foreign-made products are falsely associated with Canada through the use of maple leaves or vague labels like 鈥淒esigned in Canada.鈥� This misleading practice gives consumers the impression that products are Canadian when they are not.

This issue came to light after a consumer from Ontario noticed the label 鈥淐on莽u au Canada鈥� (Designed in Canada) on a can of Chunky soup and shared his outrage on social media, a post that sparked significant public reaction, especially given that Campbell's closed its last Canadian factory in 2018, eliminating 380 jobs.

Pascal Th茅riault, an economist and agronomist at 91黑料网, criticized the company鈥檚 use of national imagery to mislead consumers. 鈥淭his is clear maple washing. 鈥楧esigned in Canada鈥� isn鈥檛 even an official designation,鈥� he said. Th茅riault warns that such labels are self-declared and unregulated, unlike official ones like 鈥淢ade in Canada鈥� or 鈥淧roduct of Canada,鈥� which require a high percentage of local content. He further urges consumers to look for certified local labels like "Aliments du Quebec," which have strict standards, especially since people are generally willing to pay more for locally made goods 鈥� but only if price-competitive alternatives exist.

Campbell鈥檚 admitted to adding the 鈥淒esigned in Canada鈥� label after closing its Canadian operations and said it is now phasing it out. However, only two brands 鈥� Chunky and Habitant 鈥� still carry the label.

Recent investigations also revealed widespread maple washing at major grocery chains like Walmart, IGA, Metro, and Provigo, where items like blueberries and almonds are falsely labeled as Canadian despite being imported.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) admits it only investigates after receiving consumer complaints 鈥� a reactive system that places the burden on shoppers to detect and report misleading labels. Despite having resolved 29 confirmed labeling violations since late 2024, critics argue that more proactive oversight is needed.