Many families in Canada who miss the taste of home ask relatives to send a few jars of pickled shallots, pickled mustard greens or sweet and sour pickled eggplant. However, food is a very sensitive category for air shipping. Pickles keep fermenting and producing gas in transit. When cabin pressure changes, ordinary plastic jars easily swell, pop their lids and leak brine onto surrounding parcels, which can lead the airline to refuse or destroy them.

To make sure your taste of home arrives intact, you need to know how to pack against leaks and choose the right shipping service.

Comparing costs for shipping food to Canada

Depending on the weight and your needs, Soleil Transportation offers air shipping solutions from Vietnam to Canada with delivery to the recipient at very competitive prices.

Note: Prices include import duties in Canada. Packing in a standard carton is free.

3 steps to pack pickles so the lids don’t pop

To keep jars of pickled shallots and eggplant from leaking in flight, senders in Vietnam should use this three-layer packing method:

Step 1: Pour off some liquid and choose a strong jar

• Don’t fill the brine right up to the rim. Leave a 3–4 cm gap so the gas has room to expand.
• Use rigid, purpose-made plastic jars with tight screw caps. Avoid cheap, thin plastic jars that dent easily.

Step 2: Wrap with cling film and seal with tape

• Wrap cling film tightly over the mouth of the jar at least 5 times before screwing on the lid.
• After tightening the lid, tape it firmly around the lid and neck with wide tape so it can’t unscrew when shaken.

Step 3: Double vacuum-seal and add cushioning

• Put each jar in a heavy-duty vacuum bag and seal it. If any brine leaks, it stays inside the plastic bag instead of soaking through the carton.
• When packing the carton, line it with bubble wrap so the jars don’t knock against each other.

Canadian customs rules on bringing food into the country

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) controls imported food very closely to protect biosecurity.

• Ingredients: Food must not contain meat, eggs, dairy or other ingredients from land animals. Pickled shallots, mustard greens and eggplant are purely vegetable, so they clear customs more easily.
• Labels: For homemade products, write the product name in English or French on the outside of the vacuum bag so inspectors can easily identify it.
• Import duties: With Soleil Transportation’s dedicated service, the rate from $16/kg includes all import duties, so the recipient in Canada simply waits for door delivery with no hidden costs.

Tracking and receiving your parcel in Canada

Once shipped, both sender and recipient can track the parcel online with the order or booking number. Status updates are also sent automatically by email, SMS or Zalo.

After about 7 to 12 business days, the parcel is delivered in Canada. In Toronto, Mississauga and nearby Ontario, you can choose to collect it from the Soleil Transportation warehouse at a time that suits you.

• Canadian warehouse address: 2446 Cawthra Road, B1U8, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5A 3K6
• Flexible payment: The recipient in Canada can pay by Interac e-Transfer, credit card or cash, or the sender in Vietnam can pay by bank transfer.

For more advice on which foods you can send and an accurate quote for your parcel, call our toll-free line +1 888-998-5199 or email the details to info@soleiltransportation.com and our team will help you as quickly as possible.

Why do liquid seasonings break or leak in flight?

Unlike road transport, air cargo goes through constant changes in pressure and temperature as the aircraft takes off and lands.

When air pressure drops, the air inside plastic bottles or glass jars expands. If the cap isn’t sealed properly or the bottle is too thin, the pressure from inside can pop the cap off or crack the bottle. Loading and sorting at transit warehouses also cause repeated knocks. If bottles are packed close together without cushioning, breakage is hard to avoid.

How to pack fermented sauces and liquid seasonings for air freight

To ship liquid and paste foods to Canada safely, follow this 4-step packing process strictly:

Step 1: Choose the right bottle and secure the cap

• Avoid glass wherever possible. Decant sauces and liquid seasonings into thick, flexible PET plastic bottles.
• Don’t fill fish sauce or seasonings right up to the neck. Leave a gap of about 3–5 cm between the liquid and the cap so the air has room to expand when the pressure changes.
• Wrap plumber’s thread seal tape around the thread of the bottle neck before screwing the cap on tightly. Then wrap several rounds of wide tape over the outside of the cap to hold it in place.

Step 2: Shrink wrap and seal in zip bags

• Wrap the whole bottle at least 3 times in heat-shrink film or cling film.
• Put each bottle in its own sealed zip bag. If it leaks, the sauce stays inside the bag instead of soaking through the carton and damaging other items.

Step 3: Add shock-absorbing padding

• Wrap each bottle separately in 2 to 3 layers of bubble wrap.
• When packing the carton, don’t let bottles touch each other directly. Separate them with foam, packing peanuts or honeycomb cardboard.
• Fill every gap in the box. When you shake it gently, there should be no rattling and nothing should move.

Step 4: Seal the carton and add warning labels

• Use a sturdy 5-ply carton.
• Reinforce every edge and corner of the box with tape.
• Add “Fragile” or “This Side Up” labels on the outside so handlers take care during transit.

At Soleil Transportation, we check and pack parcels to Canada in a basic carton for free. However, for special items such as fermented sauces and liquids, customers should pack them carefully from the start following the guide above, or contact us in advance for specialist bubble wrapping at a small surcharge.

What to do if fish sauce breaks or leaks

Even with careful packing, there is still a small risk because of factors beyond anyone’s control on the long 7 to 14 day journey from Vietnam to Canada. If you receive a parcel in Canada and notice signs of leaking, follow these steps:

Step 1: Leave everything as it is and record evidence

As soon as you see that the box is wet, smells unusual or is dented, don’t rush to open it without recording.

• Take clear photos of the whole box showing dents, tears or liquid stains.
• Film yourself opening the box, showing which bottles broke, how much was lost and how the other items in the box were affected.

Step 2: Separate the affected goods

• Quickly remove the leaking bottles so the sauce doesn’t keep soaking into clothing, books or other dried foods in the same box.
• Wipe the intact bottles with a damp cloth, dry them and store them somewhere cool and airy.

Step 3: Contact the carrier immediately

Send all your photos, the unboxing video and your order (or booking) number to Soleil Transportation customer care at info@soleiltransportation.com or on +1 888-998-5199.

Note that for food items, insurance usually doesn’t pay out automatically unless you arranged extra cargo insurance in advance. However, we always do our best to review the handling process with you, identify the cause and offer the best possible support when an order is unlucky enough to have a problem.

Important notes when shipping food to Canada

• CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) rules: All food sent to Canada must be clearly declared. Seafood-based sauces are usually accepted more easily than products containing pork, beef or chicken, which are tightly controlled because of disease concerns.
• Shipping rates: Soleil Transportation’s air shipping from Vietnam to Canada starts at $16/kg (import duties included). Small parcels and gifts sent by ePacket start at just $8.50 CAD per parcel.
• Delivery time: Average transit time from Vietnam to Canada is 7 to 12 business days, depending on the delivery address in Canada.

Before sending any fermented sauce or liquid seasoning, call Soleil Transportation on +1 888-998-5199 or bring your goods to our warehouse at 2446 Cawthra Road, B1U8, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5A 3K6. Our staff will check whether the item is currently allowed into Canada, so it isn’t confiscated or destroyed at the border.