On June 12th, Health Canada shared a proposed Nutrition Facts table aimed to improve nutrition information on food labels. As part of the consultation process you are invited to provide comments in writing to Health Canada by August 26, 2015. This is the right time to get involved let your voice be heard! In general, the proposed changes are as follows:
- Serving sizes will be regulated to make them consistent and reflect what is typically eaten (e.g. a serving of bread will be 2 slices instead of 1 slice)
- The information about serving sizes and calories will be more prominent
- Sugars will have a new % Daily Value (%DV) of 100 grams and sugars will be grouped together in the ingredients list
- The %DV for carbohydrates will be removed
- A footnote will appear at the bottom of the Nutrition Facts table to explain that 5% DV or less is a little and 15% DV or more is a lot
- Food colours will be identified by their common name in the list of ingredients
- A new health claim will be allowed, “A healthy diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruit may help reduce the risk of heart disease”
- Vitamins A and C will be removed from the Nutrition Facts table, and potassium will be added
- The actual amounts in milligrams (mg) of potassium, calcium and iron will now be shown in addition to their % DV
Contact us if you would like to discuss the interpretation of the proposed label changes and how they may impact your business. We can also assist with your comments to Health Canada during the consultation phase which ends August 26, 2015.