Nutrition Food Labels are Getting a Make-over! Get the DL on the Proposed Changes!

Last summer Health Canada proposed changes to our current Nutrition Labels. Over a period of three months, all Canadians had the opportunity to comment on the labels. As Registered Dietitians, represented by the College of Dietitians of Ontario and the Dietitians of Canada, we had the opportunity to dissect the labels even further to provide feedback on the changes based on our knowledge, the clients we serve, and the questions you ask us! Health Canada announced Part 1 of the changes late last week. Right off the bat, I must relay that these are not the finalized versions, and will move through another commenting and editing phase prior to moving towards the Canada Gazette 2 stage (stages aligned before they are finalized as mandatory).[1]

As a consumer, you are becoming more aware of the changes being made to the foods we eat in our food system, choices to make to try to put the best of your health forward, research and stats on the latest chronic diseases and most importantly, wanting to better understand different foods. The new labels have been designed with all of this in mind, to allow people to make better choices, and hope for better understanding of foods eaten that have a nutrition facts table and ingredient list.

To start familiarizing you with this information, here are some of the proposed changes for stage 1:

• Mandatory standardized serving sizes for the Nutrition Facts Table (NFt) – What does this mean? Have you ever tried to compare the sodium content of three different boxes of crackers, just to see that one box looks at 10 crackers (30 g), another looks at 20 crackers (45 g) and a third looks at 5 crackers (25 g)? This standardization means that similar foods will have the nutrition information provided based on a set amount/standard serving (# of crackers/grams), such as 30 g of crackers for all cracker boxes. So, all cereals, pastas, rice, breads, yogurt, fruit cups, granola bars, beans, soups, etc will be comparable to the same amount of that food product.
• Serving Size and Calories will be easier to find and read –Currently the most important part to read on a label before you start dissecting it is the serving size. This happens to be found in the smallest print on a label and many people skim right over this to just look at how many calories, or how much sugar or fat is in the product. If you have half of the amount, or three times the amount of this product, you don’t truly know what you are getting (if you follow a label’s info, and skipped the serving size). Being able to view this information a little better will be helpful for all. Additionally, instead of breaking apart where Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates are on a label, the nutrients that provide calories (Fat, Protein and Carbohydrates), will be listed directly below the calorie line.
• Information about the % Daily Value (%DV) – I get asked all of the time what this means. This percentage is based on a 2000 calorie diet, which I recognize is not followed by most. What it is best used for is to indicate whether a food item has a lot of a nutrient, or a little of a nutrient. For example, some people need to pay particular attention to including more iron in their diet, so they would want more of this item. A %DV of 15% or more is considered “a lot of a nutrient”. Some individuals may need to watch how much total trans and saturated fat they include in their diet. A %DV of 5% or less is considered “a little of a nutrient”, so they would want to use this to compare like products as well. I often tell my clients that if you hold up two boxes of cereal and you’re looking for the 5%DV or less, if one has 15% and a second has 7%, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to put both away, but what it means is that the 7%DV item is a better choice!
• Improved Sugar Labeling – Yes! In two ways: (*best to speak to a registered dietitian on this though for deeper explanation)

1. A %DV will now be allocated to sugars (found under carbohydrates). As you may be aware, the World Health Organization released a proposal last March 2014, and another press release this past March 2015 with recommendations for consumers to reduce their intake of free sugars to less than 10%, with a further reduction to below 5% or roughly 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day to provide additional health benefits.[2] Now, this gets tricky because you have to understand that if you are having a jam with some natural fruit, frozen unsweetened berries, or yogurt, there will be natural occurring sugar in the product, so this Sugar identifier is both natural and added sugars. This is why you want to pay attention to the next point!
2. Grouping of sugars on the ingredient list (check out the diagram below). Right now, product manufacturers can add so many different types of added sugars (syrup, sucrose, honey, molasses, etc), and based on the quantity that those items are used, they can appear from most to least quantity on the ingredient list, in between other ingredients used to make the food. The proposed labels would have all added sugars grouped together: Sugars (syrup, brown sugar, honey, etc). So, if the total added sugars, combined, are the largest quantity in that food product, this will appear first on an ingredient list! My recommendation, put the product down!! It will be interesting to see how product manufacturers get out of this one 🙂

• Ingredient Lists: Allergen Information and Food Colours – Allergen foods will be easier to see on a label (all labels will have to follow the same changes), and instead of “food colours”, the common name of the actual food colour (ie. Allura red) will be listed. We now have research that has linked certain food dyes to health conditions, so as consumers who are aware of what to avoid, the information will be provided for you.
• Changes in some nutrients and their % Daily Value – Based on recent nutrient recommendations and nutrients of concern to watch out for, the % DV for Vitamin C and A have been removed, and potassium has been added. These will also have the amount (in mg) of the nutrient within the allocated serving being identified.

This is the beginning, and I know there will be more to come. Having this information for you is important, so ask questions and be part of the labeling process.

Proposed Nutrition Facts Table and Ingredient List [3]

[1] http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/health-system-systeme-sante/consultations/food-label-etiquette-des-aliments/process-processus-eng.php

[2] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/sugar-guideline/en/

[3] http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/health-system-systeme-sante/consultations/food-label-etiquette-des-aliments/process-processus-eng.php