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WHAT'S NEW
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Nutrition labels, featuring trans fats
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Make health-conscious choices at the grocery store by knowing what to look for on nutrition labels.
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By Heather Camlot
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If you are trying to count calories or follow a special diet, look no further than your local grocery store for dietary information. In early January 2003, Health Canada announced mandatory nutrition labelling to help Canadians make better food choices and live healthier lives.
"It's a little known fact that diet and physical activity are second only to tobacco in impacting your risk for many chronic diseases," says Karen Dodds, director general of Health Canada's Food Directorate. "Many Canadians want to take action on diet."
An addition to the label
Most prepackaged foods will carry the standardized Nutrition Facts labelling, which includes the number of calories and percentage of daily intake of the following: cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fibre, sugars, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, saturated fats and -- for the first time -- artery-clogging trans fats.
Exempted from the new regulation are fresh fruit and vegetables, raw, ungrounded single ingredient meat and poultry, alcohol and freshly made foods that are sold right away, such as sandwiches and soups. Manufacturers have three years to add the labelling to their products and small businesses are allowed five years.
Watch for diet claims
Also for the first time, Health Canada will allow diet-related claims on packaging as they pertain to reducing one's risk of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and high blood pressure. The government believes the new labelling will take some of the weight off the health-care system as consumers become more aware of what they eat.
"Studies have established that nutrition labelling could save over $5.3 billion over the next 20 years in both direct and indirect costs," says Dodds. Those costs include treating diabetes, coronary disease and cancer, as well as costs from loss of productivity. Currently, poor diet saddles the economy with $6.3 billion annually, including $1.8 billion directly on health-care costs. Public education material based on the Nutrition Facts labelling will be available through Health Canada and from nutritionists and dietitians across the country.
MochaSofa, February 2003
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