Canada, this one’s for you. Health Canada has finalized its long-awaited front-of-package nutrition warning labels. Reluctant processed and packaged foods sector players have been given a generous 4 year grace period to ‘phase’ them in. The hope is that folks will be more careful about their non-fresh food choices…
The new labels will appear at the top of tall packages and top right on the front of packages that are wider than they are tall. You can’t miss them. There’s a big magnifying glass on the left and a list of bad stuff they contain on the right.
The bad things are Added Sugar, Sodium (i.e.- Salt) and Saturated Fats. And a product gets the mandatory warning label if it contains 15 percent or more per serving of the daily recommended allowance of any of the bad things.
Why a warning label?
Frequently eating foods high in sodium, sugars or saturated fat can lead to increased health risks. Risks include: stroke, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and some types of cancers.
The front-of-package nutrition symbol is designed to help you make quick and informed choices when shopping for groceries. It’s also supposed to support health professionals in educating people about foods high in sodium, sugars and saturated fat.
What are the odds?
The odds are definitely against the consumer without some kind of warning label to spotlight potentially unhealthy foods. Health Canada reports that 4 out of 5 Canadians say they’re concerned about nutrition when choosing foods for their families. But a third of the fat we consume comes from snacks and junk food. Two thirds of the added sugar we consume comes from packaged and processed foods. And three quarters of the excess sodium we get comes from those same packaged and processed products.
So the strategy of telling folks up-front ‘how much is too much’ dovetails nicely with the detailed nutrition labeling already required on packaged and processed foods.
What are the chances?
What are the chances that the new front-of-package warning labels will make a positive difference in shoppers’ choices at the supermarket?
Health Canada says, “FOP nutrition labelling has been successful in Chile, where it is estimated that household food purchases contained 37 percent less sodium and 27 percent less sugar after the country implemented a similar front-of-package labelling system to the one Canada is implementing.” But we’ll have to wait and see.
~ Maggie J.