Improving Healthy Eating Information
Guest Blog by: Selena Chow Erskine, B.Sc. R.D.
Clinical Dietitian & Pulse Generator Member
Eating healthy is something we all strive
to achieve as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Reading food labels to learn about the foods you put food into your
grocery cart can
help you stay in line with your healthy eating goals.
If you
are on a special diet to prevent or manage a specific condition such as
diabetes or heart disease,
reading food labels and knowing what you are purchasing is also very important.
There is a wealth of information to be
found on a
nutrition label. Calories, fat,
saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar are key pieces of
information found on the nutrition facts table. Knowing the amounts of these in
a particular food item can help you focus on nutrients you would like to or
need to get more
or less of. Being
diligent and checking the
ingredients list will help you avoid foods that contain additives or other
ingredients that you may be interested in avoiding.
The nutrition information found on food
packaging has been historically
inconsistent and
unrealistic (who eats 1/3 cup of cereal??) making it difficult for you as
consumer to make sound food choices without constantly having to do a lot of
math while shopping.
Health
Canada is striving to improve the food environment in Canada,
making it
easier for individuals to make healthier choices. As part of Canada’s Healthy Eating Strategy,
new regulations on food labeling were established in 2016. This will change the way the nutrition
facts table
and the list of ingredients appear on food packaging. Some of these changes have already started to
appear, but food manufacturers will have 5 years in which to complete these
changes. By 2021 the information you see
on all food labels should be easier to find, read, decipher, compare similar
products and understand. Here are the differences that you will be seeing on your food labels in
the near future.
Summary of Changes to the Nutrition
Facts Table:
• Removal
of Vitamin A and C since most Canadians get enough of these nutrients in their
diets
• Serving
sizes reflect a realistic serving size that Canadians typically eat in one sitting
• Information
on
serving size and calories made easier to find and read
• Milligram
amounts included for potassium, calcium and iron to make it easier to quantify
the amount consumers are getting
• Updated
% daily values based on current science
• Addition
of % daily
value for total sugars along with an explanation
of %
daily value to help consumers understand what is “a little” or what is “a lot”
when it comes to sugars and other nutrients
• Addition
of potassium for its
importance in
maintaining healthy blood pressure and because most Canadians are not getting
enough of this nutrient
Summary of Changes to the List of
Ingredients:
• Grouping
sugar-based
ingredients together
to help consumers
identify all sources
of
sugars added to a food.
After the
name “sugars”, sugars-based ingredients are listed in brackets
in descending order by weight)
• Listing
food colors
by
their individual common names
• Minimum
type
height requirements using both upper/lower case letters
in
black font on white or neutral background and separating ingredients using
bullets/commas to improve readability
• Any "contains" statement indicating the presence or potential presence of
priority food allergens,
gluten source and/or added sulphites are subject to the same formatting
requirements.
** Nutrition Facts diagram and
ingredient list adapted from
Health Canada
