3rd Global Oil & Fats Forum

American Palm Oil CouncilOctober 2003

The New Canadian Food Label on Packaged Foods A Canadian Consumer Update

Susan RobertsNational Project Co-ordinator

Healthy Eating is in Store for you™

Nothing new about Food Labels!!

• London Daily telegraph July 16 2002

• “Archeologists have discovered one of the earliest examples of the marketing man’s craft on a label on jar of Roman fish past.. First century ‘tunny fish’ relish shipped from Spain to a fort on the northernmost edge of the Roman empire – ‘excellent’ and ‘top quality’ are still clearly visible on the clay label

Presentation Summary

• 1. Canada new label laws - They are Here!!• 2. What they say – The changes• 2. Education program - Making a Difference• 3. Consumer feedback – Seems to be

working

Hear ye Hear ye!The Gazette 2 is out!

Health Canada Regulations for nutrition information on the

packaged food labelPublished January 1, 2003

web location http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partII/2003/200301

01/html/sor11-e.html

THE Health Canada KEY MESSAGES

1. Easier to find, Easier to read, on more foods.

2. Use Nutrition Facts, list of ingredients and nutrition claims to make informed food choices.

3. Nutrition Facts are based on a specific amount of food - compare this to the amount you eat.

4. Use % Daily Value to see if a food has a lot or a little of a nutrient.

Health Canada Nutrition labelling Toolkit

www.healthcanad.ca/nutrtionlabelling

The Label – Calories & 13 nutrients

now mandatory was voluntary‘note trans and sats’ fats

Serving size

• the specific amount of food listed under the “Nutrition Facts” title

• all nutrient information is based on this amount of food

• listed in common measures you use at home

% Daily Value

• can make it easier to compare foods

• helps you see if a food has a lot or a little of a nutrient

• provides a context to the actual amount of a nutrient

Use % Daily Value to see if a food has a lot or a little of a nutrient

The actual numbers can be confusing, for example:

• 2 mg of iron seems small but it is 15 % of the Daily Value for iron

• 110 mg of sodium seems large but it is only 5 % of the Daily Value for sodium

• % Daily Value makes it easy to see if there is a lot or a little of a nutrient without having to do any math.

The CDN RequirementsBased on a 2000 calorie diet

Calories NAFat (g) 65 gSaturated fat and trans fat (g) 20 gCholesterol (mg) 300 mgSodium (mg) 2400 mgCarbohydrate (g) 300 mgFibre (g) 25 gSugars (g) NAProtein (g) NAVitamin A (RE) 1000REVitamin C (mg) 60 mgCalcium (mg) 1100 mgIron (mg) 14 mg

List of ingredients all of the ingredients for a food are

listed by weight, from the most to the least (the ingredient that is in the largest amount is listed first)

• is present on pre-packaged foods

• is a source of allergy information

• is a source of certain nutrient information

Nutrition claims – Nutrient and Health claims

• regulated statements made when a food meets certain criteria

• optional, so may be found only on some food products

• often on the front of food packages

• a quick and easy way to get information about a food

Nutrient claimsDecrease the amount of certain nutrients

Free• none or hardly any of this nutrient• an example is “sodium free”

Low• a small amount• an example is “low fat”

Reduced• at least 25% less of the nutrient than a

similar product• example is “reduced in Calories”

Light• used on foods that are reduced in fat or reduced in Calories

Nutrient claimsIncrease the amount of certain nutrients

Source

• contains a useful amount of the nutrient

• an example is “source of fibre”

High or good

source

• contains a high amount of the nutrient

• an example is “high in vitamin C”

Very high or

excellent source

• contains a very high amount of the nutrient

• an example is “excellent source of calcium”

Nutrient claims and SFA

• Free of SFA <.2g SFA and <.2g trans• Low in SFA 2g or less of SFA and trans• Reduced in SFA 25% less SFA than origin• Lower in SFA 25% less SFA and the

content of trans is not higher

Nutrient Claims - Trans Fat

• Free of trans <.2g trans• Reduced in trans 25% less trans

origin• Lower in trans 25% less trans and

the SFA is not higher

Health ClaimsHealth claims describe a relationship between a food

or anutrient and a health condition and are restricted to

thesefour health conditions: • Heart disease • Certain types of cancer • Osteoporosis • High blood pressure

Claims relating to dental caries/cavities may also

appear on foods such as sugar-free gum/candies.

Example Nutrition Claim

(health and nutrient claim)

“A healthy diet low in saturated and trans fats may reduce the risk of

heart disease. (Naming the food) is free of saturated and trans fats.”

Healthy Eating is in Store for

YouTM

HESY for short! Co-sponsored by Dietitians of Canada

and Canadian Diabetes Association

Made possible through the Health Canada National Diabetes Strategy.

Project Objectives

Consumers will develop and/or enhance label

reading knowledge and skills

Consumers will apply knowledge to select

healthy food choices

DC and CDA recognized as trusted sources of

labelling information

Healthy Eating is in Store for You™

in other words..

In an enabling environment the HESY resources will assist consumers in making healthy food choices through better use of the nutrition information on the NEW food label on packaged foods.

HESY Target Audience

• Adult women with families• Low income Canadians and those with low

literacy• Seniors on limited and fixed incomes• Those with or at risk for type 2 diabetes• Intermediary targets: community health

educators (CHE), manufacturers, grocery retailers

HESY Features

• Web enabled• Community based and/or point of

purchase• Useful for those with literacy

challenges• Teach application of knowledge• Available in French & English• Comprehensive evaluation

OVERVIEW

HESY Educational Resources

FIVE Project OutputsEnvironmental Scan

A web site which includes:

Interactive Inventory

Virtual Grocery Store and more•Resource Kit•Retailer focused document

ENVIRONMENTAL SCANcompleted February 2002

A Search for resources/ information on nutrition labelling (US, Canada, UK, France, Australia, New Zealand and Japan). The findings:• Very little evaluation, limited creativity• Limited use of Internet as a learning and

teachingmedium, most web enabled resources had high to very highliteracy level.

• Informed the HESY project development

Development process• Environmental Scan and Canadian

consumer data

• Creative development team

• Resources and web site Sub-committee

• Advisory Committee

• Focus testing

• Final resources

Web Sitewww.healthyeatingisinstore.c

a

OVERVIEW

HESY Resource Kit

download fromwww.healthyeatingisinstore.ca

Materials galore!

Instructor materials

• Instructor’s Guide• Advertising flyer• Overview flyer• Overview

PowerPoint presentation

Consumer materials

• 6 Fact Sheets• 4 FAQ Sheets• 8 Activity Sheets• Consumer

brochure

Instructor’s Guide

Instructor’s Guide

Instructor’s GuideModule 1 (60 minutes)Introducing the nutrition information on food labels

Module 2 (90 minutes)Reading the Nutrition Facts table

Module supplement (diabetes)Additional resources for instructing people with diabetes

Instructor Sheets

Ready-to-print overheads:1. Learning outcomes2. Look at the label3. All about health claims4. The Nutrition Facts table5. The importance of nutrients6. Get less or get more7. Serving size8. Grocery cart

Fact Sheets

• Nutrients• Health claims• Nutrient content claims• Ingredient list• Nutrition Facts table• % Daily Value• Serving size

6 Fact Sheets introduce consumers to:

Activity Sheets

1. Figure out the Facts2. Figure out the Facts (blank)3. Compare foods using % Daily Value4. Compare foods using % Daily Value (blank)5. Serve it up or serve it down

For people with diabetes:6. Plan meals with carbohydrate in mind7. Compare the facts for carbohydrate8. Carbohydrate counter for serving size

FAQ Sheets

1. Nutrient content claims2. Words to watch for (on the ingredient list)3. The importance of nutrients

For people with diabetes:4. Sugar claims

Consumer Brochure

• 3 parts of the label: Nutrition Facts table, claims, ingredient list

• Reading the Nutrition Facts table

Consumer brochure summarizes:

ADD VALUE THROUGH IN-STORE NUTRITION

EDUCATION

• Interviewed retailers and manufacturers• ‘Add Value’ promotes opportunities and

benefits for grocery retail managers to partner with community health educators (including dietitians, diabetes educators and home economists).

• Two releases – January 20, 2003 and April 2003

• The releases are available on the web site

OVERVIEW

HESY Evaluation The Consumer Perspective

Add Value Through In-store Nutrition Education

Survey showed…

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Percent

Addsvalue

UsedCHE's

Grocerystoretours

Resource Kit Evaluation

Focus groupsFocus groups

Structured questionnaireStructured questionnaire

Results by target groupsResults by target groups

Re-visit participants 6 months Re-visit participants 6 months post-post- focus groupfocus group

Focus Group Did we reach our target?

Age of Participants

18-34 35-54 55-64 65 and up0

5

10

15

20

25

Children at home

0

1

2

3

4 ormore

Focus Group Did we reach our target?

0

5

10

15

20

25

Income

less than 25,0025,000-45,000more than 45,000

0

5

10

15

20

Education

some high schoolhigh schoolsome college/ universitycollege or university

Focus Group - Did we reach our target?

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Health Concerns

DiabetesCancerHeart DiseaseObesityOsteoporosisOther

DID THE RESOURCE KIT WORK?

4.2% DV comparison

4.4Serving size = calories and nutrients

3.8Relation to CFGHE

4.7Label and informed choice

4.7Ingredient list

4.2Nutrient content claims Did the Resource Kit Work?

4.0Health claims

MeanConcepts

3.5What calories are

4.5Likelihood of using nutrition information

3.9Likelihood of using %DV

4.7Nutrition facts box and choices

MeanConcept

Label Reading Savvy

86% felt important to review 86% felt important to review nutrition nutrition information before information before buyingbuying

73% said nutrition information 73% said nutrition information on on food helped them make food helped them make purchase purchase decisionsdecisions

80% felt comfortable using 80% felt comfortable using labels to labels to compare 2 productscompare 2 products

How are we doing with the web based resources?

Web site on-line surveys on each web page

Web site has over 5,200 hits per day

Virtual Grocery Store is the most frequently visited and game scores are recorded and reported weekly

Second most frequently visited is What’s Happening?

HESYWhat to Expect on

Evaluation• By February 2004 - Final Evaluation

– Process Evaluation • Success of the partnership between DC and

CDA • Satisfaction of the project’s 9 collaborators

– Outcome Evaluation• effectiveness of the 5 outputs

HESY Dissemination Strategy

Dissemination Strategy

Dietitians of Canada (DC) electronic newsletter and monthly update from June, 2001

Mailing re: the website to DC & Canadian Diabetes Association membership - March, 2003, June 2003

Collaborators sent all communication pieces to distribute through their networks and have linked to HESY web site

Linked to Health Canada labelling website

Workshops and conference presentations

Canada News wire - Grocery Basket Makeover

with pickup by magazine, radio, TV and dailys

Top Ten food label questions asked by consumers…

10. Is a serving size the same as what I eat?9. Is % DV an abbreviation for Diovol? 8. What is the difference between fat and calories?7. Why are the letters on the food labels

bigger in the US?6. Does Cholesterol have trans fats?5. Why doesn’t the label say white sugar?4. Are trans fats good for you?3. Can you make the food label edible some

how?2. Why are there no shreddies in the US? 1. Can you come grocery shopping with me?

www.healthyeatingisinstore.ca

THANK YOU!