Evidence of meeting #43 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was products.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Scientific Director, Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
I think the three-pronged approach proposed so far is a good approach in terms of public education, collaboration from the food industry, reducing the sodium content, and the ability to actually monitor effectiveness so that we know the strategy is working. I think this is important in terms of a coordinated strategy, because if the public does not know about the importance of sodium, even though the food content may be reduced, they may simply add it back in.
Liberal
Scientific Director, Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Oh no, I do believe in it. Of course I do.
Scientific Director, Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Yes, of course. And my sense is that, in fact, a target has been set. It's a graduated reduction plan. I think that is what's required for a potentially successful strategy in terms of reducing sodium intake for the population.
Liberal
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Where could we find information about a target--who set it, what is it, and by when?
Scientific Director, Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
In the minutes of the last committee meeting, I think a target was actually identified: 2,300 milligrams for the year 2016.
Conservative
Liberal
Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra, BC
Okay, I have another question.
I'd like to find out about multicultural communities. The material we have here talks about African Americans being particularly susceptible. Averages mask the real dangers. Are there groups in Canada that should know more urgently and more quickly and should have strong targets?
Scientific Director, Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Yes, we certainly know that there are populations or communities that are particularly susceptible, for example, to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; for example, our first nations population, the South Asian group, and as mentioned from other studies, the African population as well.
I think these are areas where a particularly tailored strategy is going to be important. And there are some cultural-specific practices, in terms of food intake patterns and also salt involved in cooking and things like that, that will be very important to take into account to make sure we have an effective strategy to reach out to these particularly high-risk populations.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I think I have a number of very different questions.
First, I hear about the great strides that the two of you from the industry have been making. Are there not some issues that a more regulatory kind of framework would put you on a more equal playing field? Are there challenges with your competitors continuing to up-salt? That would be my first question.
Vice-President, Nutrition and Corporate Affairs, Kellogg Canada Inc.
Thank you for your question.
The first thing that comes to my mind is that there are many different members of the food industry, and they all make many different products in different categories. The way food is processed by category and the way salt is used is different in every category. There are probably technical challenges within categories, if you will, and there are different solutions by category in ways of reducing. I know that in my category, different grains have different solutions for how you manufacture them. There's quite a bit of technical expertise required. And when something is for the health of the population, I think the food industry responds in a responsible, collaborative manner. This is the right thing to do.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
The two Catherines both look like they had something to add here.
Director, Corporate Affairs, Nestlé Canada Inc.
I was going to add that I think where the collaboration comes in is as part of the multi-stakeholder working group, because our association is a member of that working group. Part of that is a subgroup that is made up of manufacturers, and Karen Young is a member as well. There's collaboration certainly happening at that level within the subgroups to the working group.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Thank you. Katherine, did you have anything to add on that issue?
Associate Professor, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University, Canadian Society for Nutritional Sciences
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
Okay.
My next question is this. We've heard about some very dramatic results on a national level in terms of Finland. If you take that down to an individual level... Let's say you have someone with high blood pressure who is consuming outrageous amounts of sodium and they do nothing else other than lower their sodium intake. Is your data really on the population base of those folks' habits? Do the changes individuals make quickly create changes in their own health status?
Scientific Director, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
I guess the first thing to say about those population studies is that those kinds of studies don't prove cause and effect. They are associative studies. So you instituted a lower salt diet in a certain country and you see a reduction in cardiovascular disease. Many other things happen during that same timeframe, so we don't know a priori, without studying it, that it's a cause and effect relationship.
It's hard to take that data and extrapolate it to the specific person you're asking about. That's why I think that if there is going to be a change in Canada, we need much more evidence to show that on an individual basis, if you alter the salt content in the foods you eat, it does have an impact on blood pressure, sodium content, and cardiovascular disease. We don't have that information from the associative studies.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
I also appreciate that in January you're going to be having this group. Is there any collaboration--because of course, research is expensive, and I know that many people like to... You know, research is their world and their life. Is there collaboration in terms of the international community, with different people taking responsibility for tackling different areas of concern, so that we hit those main parts and perhaps share some of the burden of the research cost?
Scientific Director, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Very much so. Research is definitely an international enterprise, and the one thing about our research is that it's not reinventing the wheel. We try to be at the cutting edge of what's going on, and Canadians can provide a niche expertise. That's what we do in all areas of research, and I think it will be niche expertise in this area of sodium reduction and its impact on the health of Canadians.
Conservative
Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC
I'll just make a final comment.
I think we just need really simple messages, and I know even people who tend to come to this particular session just listen to the information and then they very quickly are peering at labels. I think we could do a very effective public information campaign quickly, because there are a lot of people who just don't understand the very basics.
I think that's it.
