New Canadian Nutrition Labelling Regulations

Released by Health Canada, January, 2003

13 Core Nutrients: The Nutrition Facts table will show the Calories, the amount of fat, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fiber, sugars, protein, calcium, iron and Vitamins A and C in a specified amount of food. Health Canada - Information about the nutrition facts table

Goal: To provide Canadians with a tool that is easy to find, easy to use and easy to read. Canadians should use Nutrition Facts, the list of ingredients, and nutrition claims to make informed food choices.

Time line: The food industry has been given three years to comply with the new Regulations. Small businesses, which are companies with less than a million dollars in sales per year, have been given five years to comply.

Exemptions: The new Nutrition Facts table will appear on most prepackaged foods, but exemptions include: alcoholic beverages, fresh fruit and vegetables, raw meat and poultry (except ground meat and poultry), raw fish and seafood, foods that are sold only in retail establishments where they are prepared or processed, and individual servings of food intended for immediate consumption. Foods will lose their exempt status if their labels or advertisements carry a nutrient content claim or a health claim; vitamins or minerals have been added; or sweeteners such as aspartame have been added.

Nutrition and health claims: The new regulations establish permitted nutrient content claims e.g. "low calorie". They define and specify the exact conditions required for a food to qualify for a claim. These conditions are based on recognized health and scientific information.

Similarly, regulations will allow specific diet-related health claims on food for the first time in Canada. The permitted claims are about the following diet/health relationships:

• A diet low in saturated and trans fat reduces risk of heart disease;
• A diet with adequate calcium and vitamin D, and regular physical activity, reduces risk of osteoporosis;
• A diet rich in vegetables and fruit reduces risk of some types of cancer; and,
• A diet low in sodium and high in potassium reduces risk of high blood pressure
• The new regulations also provide for a claim with respect to tooth decay for chewing gum, hard candy and breath-freshening products that contain a minimal amount of those carbohydrates that promote tooth decay.

Public Education: Health Canada and its many partners will be undertaking a public education campaign to help Canadians understand and use the new Nutrition Facts table to help them avoid the risk of chronic nutrition-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. An Educator's Kit and other resource materials are available on the web site. Health Canada - Toolkit for Educators

Key messages for consumers:

• The Nutrition Facts table is easy to find, easy to read, and on more foods;
• Use Nutrition Facts, the list of ingredients and nutrition claims to make informed food choices;
• Nutrition Facts are based on a specific serving or amount of food;
• To determine the nutritional value of the food, the serving has to be compared to the amount of food actually eaten;
• Use the % Daily Value to see if a serving of the food has a lot or a little of a nutrient.