How to Easily Identify Local Products at the Grocery Store

Local shopping is a hot topic on everyone’s lips at the moment. But as you walk down the grocery store aisles, it sometimes isn’t easy to identify where certain foods come from. We spoke with Isabelle Roy, General Manager at Aliments du Québec, who shares a few tips on how to prioritize local products on your next grocery run.

Identifying logos and labels

Is it possible to have your grocery cart consist of solely Quebec-made products? “Almost!” Isabelle Roy, General Manager at Aliments du Québec, tells us. “There are nearly 27,000 members certified under the Aliments du Québec label, and you can find them in every aisle. You just need to take a little time at first to recognize the products that are grown, raised or processed here. Once you come to know these brands, it becomes easier to purchase them again. There’s no reason to go back. They’re just as competitive,” she adds.

Aliments du Québec is a non-profit organization whose aim is to promote Quebec’s agri-food industry. Each and every product under this label undergoes a strict verification and compliance process.

Products are then classified and placed into two categories:

1. Aliments du Québec (products composed of a minimum of 85% ingredients of Quebec origin);
2. Aliments préparés au Québec (any product that’s been processed and packaged in Quebec). These products are clearly marked with a logo on the packaging or price tag.

Affiliated groups with the Union des producteurs agricoles also display their logos on products like:

Fromages d’ici (cheeses)
Érable du Québec (maple syrup and maple products)
Les fraîches du Québec (strawberries and raspberries)
Le porc du Québec (pork)
Poulet Québec (chicken)
Pommes Qualité Québec (apples)
etc.

In Quebec, the origin of fresh fruits and vegetables is strictly regulated. To avoid any confusion, you can rely on the following authorized labels:

Produit du Québec (“Product of Quebec”)
Cultivé au Québec (“Grown in Quebec”)
Récolté au Québec (“Harvested in Quebec”)

Supporting the local economy

Some foods, such as coffee, chocolate and oranges, don’t grow in Quebec. If you want to have some variety in your diet, you need to broaden your local purchasing criteria to include locally processed products, even if the ingredients come from elsewhere. “There are innovative businesses with expertise [in food transformation] and they create jobs for people here. So if this is a choice you can make, it’s better to support such companies,” explains Roy.

Choosing local fruits and vegetables (whatever the season)

Finding fresh Quebec broccoli in winter may be difficult, but this doesn’t mean we’re lacking in local produce options during the colder months. Root vegetables and apples, for example, can be found in grocery stores year-round. For fresh vegetables, greenhouse farming is gaining in popularity, with lettuce (Gen V), radishes (Leciel) and cucumbers (Toundra) from Quebec available all the time. Frozen is also a solid option. Arctic Gardens, for example, grows its vegetables in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. Bleu et Bon specializes in frozen blueberries, haksap berries and strawberries from Quebec.

Are local products more expensive?

“It depends on the products,” says Roy. “Sometimes, local foods cost a bit more due to quality assurance and labour costs. But everyday consumer products aren’t. Yum Yum chips or Fontaine Santé hummus, for example, aren’t more expensive [than their competitors]. As for greenhouse vegetables, the more people make a habit of buying them, the more prices will become competitive.”

Betting on meat and fish

The majority of fresh meat sold in grocery stores comes from Quebec and Canada. It’s easily identifiable by logos (see above), like Porc du Québec (Quebec pork), Veau du Québec (Quebec veal) and Canadian Beef. When it comes to generic meat found at the butcher department, origins aren’t necessarily displayed. So don’t hesitate to ask your butcher.

It gets a bit more complicated finding local fresh fish and seafood. “Identification is done when possible, but there are foods that aren’t produced here, like salmon, for example,” Roy points out. “However, there is Quebec seafood that is clearly identified in the frozen section of certain grocery stores. You can find halibut, scallops, Nordic shrimp, redfish, lobster, crab, oysters and even Arctic char at the fishmonger’s,” she lists.

A plethora of dairy products

Canadian dairy is easily recognizable on packages of milk, cheese and yogurt. It’s the small blue cow logo of the Dairy Farmers of Canada. Most of our dairy products come from Canada, even if the company itself isn’t Canadian. “It’s best to be vigilant, though, as some brands use imported milk,” she warns.

A whole lotta local products

The shelves and refrigerated sections contain hundreds of products that are processed and packaged locally, such as canned tomatoes (Aylmer), jarred sauces (RICARDO, Reine des sauces), plant-based proteins (Unisoya, Noble Bean), pasta (Catelli) and candy (Mondoux-Sweet Sixteen).

And what about peanut butter, which we can’t do without on our morning toast? “Large brands have factories here that create jobs,” Roy emphasizes. “But if you want to turn to a local brand (since peanuts obviously don’t grow here), you can go with Nature Nux.”

For ways to cook local ingredients, be sure to consult our selection of recipes: