Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
We appreciate the opportunity to give you a perspective this afternoon on initiatives by Canada's food service industry to promote healthy, active living.
The second slide provides a little bit of background about the CRFA, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
We recognize that obesity is a serious and complex societal problem and that we own part of the solution. We commend you for undertaking an in-depth study of the issue of childhood obesity and look forward to working with you and other stakeholders on effective and workable solutions.
CRFA created the nutrition and fitness round table in January 2003, and I will give you a quick overview of some of the round table initiatives.
The round table recognized that restaurant customers have a growing interest in obtaining nutrition information about the food and beverages they buy. However, given the made-to-order nature of our industry, supplier substitutions, daily and seasonal specials, as well as the wide range of dietary concerns among Canadian consumers, it can be a challenge for restaurants to provide nutrition information in an accurate, thorough, and legible way.
The nutrition information program was developed to standardize the nutrition information available to consumers and to increase consumer access to the information and awareness of its availability. The program requires participating companies to provide consumer information on the same 13 nutrient values provided on the food facts panel of packaged foods, in brochure form, at point of sale, and to let customers know that the information is available on the premises. In addition, restaurant operators are encouraged to identify ingredients that are common causes of allergies.
The program was launched in February 2005 and continues to grow. Twenty-seven companies have now signed on to this voluntary program, representing almost 41% of chain establishments in Canada.
Food service companies also spend millions of dollars a year on activities, base sponsorships, and promotions, both nationally and in virtually every community in Canada. Food service operators are involved in fundraising for children's programs, from summer camps to school playgrounds, and support a variety of organizations and programs promoting healthy living.
CRFA is co-chairing Health Canada's social marketing working group to develop and deliver messages to consumers about how to achieve a healthy, active lifestyle. Food service operators are also focused on reformulating their menu items to reduce and eliminate trans fat. CRFA participated on a trans fat task force and supported the report's recent recommendations. CRFA has also developed seminars and website information to help smaller food service operators respond to growing customer concern about nutrition and fitness.
Before I address other ideas that have been proposed to address the issue of obesity, I'd like my colleague Jill Holroyd to provide some perspective on the restaurant industry in Canada.