Nicole Boyd knows what she’s looking for when she flips over a packaged item at the grocery store.
A practised hand at spotting what ingredients to avoid, the Fredericton-based dietitian can easily navigate the Nutrition Facts table found on most packaged food.
But she acknowledges the average consumer can find the complexities of the Health Canada information on labels confusing and even overwhelming.
She applauds the new front-of-package labelling as a quick, clear warning to consumers that the product they’re about to drop in the shopping cart may not be the wisest choice.
The symbol of a magnifying glass has been mandatory since Jan. 1 for all prepared foods that exceed 15 per cent of the recommended daily value in saturated fat, sugars or sodium.
“I think it can give you a really quick snapshot of whether this product has ingredients that you’re trying to avoid,” she said. “It can be a really simple way of knowing whether you want more of that product or less.”
Consuming too much saturated fat, sugar or sodium can increase risk of stroke, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and some types of cancers.
But there are exemptions to the new rules, including whole unprocessed foods such as fresh produce, raw meat, poultry and fish.
Certain dairy products like plain milk, yogurt and cheese are also excused, because they’re high sources of calcium, as are some traditional products such as honey, maple syrup and pure sugars.
Boyd said nutrition is very complex, and marketing companies can take advantage of that by deliberately misleading consumers and misrepresenting supposed health benefits.
Health Canada’s mandatory front-of-package labelling went into effect on Jan. 1, and that means foods high in saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium now come with a warning. With skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in Canada, the subtle warning is getting mixed reviews.
“Some of those high sugar cereals are marketed as a whole grain because they do contain some whole grains, but they’re not necessarily a source of fibre.”
Tactics like that make food intervention important.
Lana Vanderlee, associate professor at the University of Laval’s school of nutrition, and Canada Research Chair in healthy food policy, said there are several other initiatives under review, but resistance from the food industry has made change difficult.
“Their profits are the most important thing,” she said. “We know that it’s unlikely to come from voluntary actions from the food industry, and it is government who is going to have to act, likely to change those behaviours.”
Vanderlee said other policies being discussed include restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods, particularly to children, a move made in the United Kingdom earlier this month, with a landmark junk food ad ban to protect kids’ health.“
But we haven’t seen any action and we haven’t been able to get those policies passed, in part due to some food industry interference and lobbying,” she said.
Meanwhile, public health continues to suffer.
The latest figures show more than two-thirds of Canadian adults are now classified as overweight or obese, nearly a third live with diabetes or pre-diabetes, and one quarter have high blood pressure.
It’s an issue the entire world is trying to tackle. Since 2023, the World Health Organization has recognized nine member states that have established a regulatory framework to eliminate industrially produced trans fats from their national food supply.
Other countries are cracking down on food additives, including the United States, which began phasing out eight artificial food dyes, linked to hyperactivity and obesity, seven of which are permitted in Canada.
The European Union has also banned the additive titanium dioxide, after a European food safety authority couldn’t rule out that it may cause DNA or chromosomal damage in humans. It’s still being used in popular Canadian candies such as Nerds, Skittles and M&Ms.
Vanderlee said health policies are complex in terms of trading partners and current regulations.
She expects to see more changes in the coming years “as we see more and more scientific evidence about some of the impacts of the things that we put in our food, as well as consumers who are demanding that products are healthier.”
New labelling ‘can’t hurt,’ say shoppers
Trev Gonnason has been noticing the new labels while shopping at his local Fredericton Co-op store. He said he’s conscious about what he buys, and he thinks the new labelling is a good idea.
“It’s one thing to read the label and the ingredients, but when it’s graphically presented to you, it’s a little easier to recognize the items which are especially high in sodium or sugars,” he said. “Some of it is common sense, but it doesn’t hurt.”
Gonnason would also like to see the labels extended to fast food, which he said may be “more problematic than the foods we buy in grocery stores.” And the logo itself could go further to show how high the product is in saturated fat, sodium or sugar.
“I have yet to see one that is not illustrated as being high and just part way along the scale,” he said. “I think that if they can have a graduated one, that would make more sense and certainly help in the decision-making process.”
Jean-Claude LeBlanc knows his way around a nutrition table. He and his wife are label readers, he said, as they try to avoid unnecessary salt and fats in their diet.
He thinks the new front-of-package labeling “can’t hurt,” but he’s skeptical it will have lasting impacts.
“It’s nice to be in the front of the label so you see it right away,” he said. “But I think most of the people buy what they’re used to buying, and they may not even see that.”
Sue Morrison said she has high cholesterol and looks carefully at the groceries she buys. She said she’s pleased to see the new symbol on products, and she hopes more people will pay attention to it and start eating healthier foods.
“As a retired nurse, I worry about obesity and the levels of diabetes and all of those things that are happening to people,” she said.
“But it could go further . … We really do need to be paying more attention to our daily intake of fats and sugars.”
