New labeling to simplify healthy eating choices

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It's no news to any of us that healthy eating is a part of healthy living, but it isn't always easy to make the right choices in the foods we eat. But soon those choices will be a little easier to make, thanks to changes in the way foods must be labeled.

Under new requirements announced by Health Canada in early January, nutrition labeling will become easier to read and understand, and will appear on more foods than in the past.

The new mandatory regulations will require foods to be labeled with nutrition facts, including the calories in a specific portion of the product, and the amount of each of 13 nutrients found in that portion. The nutrition facts will also be required to show what percentage of a person's daily requirement of those nutrients is provided by that serving size.

The labels will list the amount of fat, saturated fat and trans-fat in a specific portion of a product, as well as the amount of cholesterol, sodium and carbohydrates, fibre, sugar and proteins, as well as the amount of vitamins A and C, calcium and iron.

The new regulations also set rules that must be met before a nutrition claim can be included on a product label, or before it can be used in advertisements for that product. And for the first time in Canada, product packaging will be allowed to include health-related claims if eating the product can help reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and high blood pressure.

The requirements for listing of ingredients remains the same as before, with ingredients listed by weight, from most to least, and information included about any ingredients that people may want to avoid because of allergies or beliefs.

Before the new regulation came into force, nutrition labeling of products was voluntary, and the amount of information and the way it was presented could differ from product to product. The new regulations will provide consumers with consistent information, making it easier to compare products, and make the choice that's best for them.

Some products will be exempt from the new regulations, including fresh fruit and vegetables, and meat and poultry that is not ground and hasn't had any other ingredients added.

Large businesses have three years to bring their labeling into line with the new regulations, while small businesses have five years.

Health Canada will be promoting the new nutrition labeling through information kits for consumers, educators, and health care providers, and a specific kit is being designed for First Nations and Inuit audiences.

The decision to produce information packages aimed specifically at First Nations and Inuit people was made by Health Canada "because we know they are a vulnerable population," explained Garima Dwivedi, acting director of implementation and dissemination with the office of nutrition policy and promotion within Health Canada.

"Their needs may be different in terms of traditional and store foods, depending on where they are. And it was just trying to meet their needs better."

Dwivedi explained that much of the information in the First Nations and Inuit packages will be the same as is in other packages, because the labeling regulations will be the same for everyone.

"But it's the information itself. We're trying to look at the messages, develop some more appropriate messages. The tear sheet for the First Nation and Inuit will look different. We're testing it with that audience to make sure it works," she said.

"The messages also, we're going to be translating that into Inuktitut, and have that available, and what would appeal to them, and what makes the most sense to that audience."

Specific tool kits for educators who work with First Nations and Inuit communities are also being designed with "additional information in terms of just how do you put this labeling into a context of healthy eating for the First Nations and Inuit," Dwivedi explained.

"Also some additional slides that would put it more into the First Natins and Inuit context in terms of what they eat, their environment, and how they can best make informed food choices.

"We're also looking at developing a train the trainer package for community health representatives and others working with the First Nations and Inuit, to get this information across," she said.

While initial indications from the food industry show consumers can expect to see the new labeling on the shelves within six to nine months, the information packages about the labeling changes should begin to go out to the public sometime between April and June, Dwivedi said.

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