Health Committee on May 4th, 2010

[Dr. Andrew Pipe]

I want to say that I admire some of the leadership that has been delivered and developed by some members of the Canadian food industry. One of the questions I would ask is, why is it going to take us so many years to do this when we have Canadian corporations--and you've identified this in your remarks--who manufacture the same product, if you will, that is sold in one country, the United Kingdom, or another country, the United States, with a totally different sodium content? We know from our own research, and frankly from the research that I've been privy to from certain food industry leaders, that it takes a few weeks before your palate adjusts to a lower level of sodium. Rather than saying it's going to take us ages to address this issue because the Canadian palate needs to adjust, it's not impertinent to ask the converse question.

The Canadian palate was used to a much lower level of sodium several years ago. Any familiarity with higher levels of sodium has come about because the sodium content of our foods over the last several years has been rising inexorably. I don't recall hearing food industry or hospitality industry individuals saying we can't put this high sodium product on our menu or on our grocery shelves because Canadian palates will require eons to adjust to this. That didn't happen. That may be seen as being a bit flippant, but I think it's a very logical question.

[Carolyn Bennett, Liberal, St. Paul's, ON]

Dr. L'Abbé.

[Dr. Mary L'Abbé]

I think Dr. Pipe had some very useful comments.

I can say that I actually have invested a lot of time and energy into seeing the work of this sodium working group. You mentioned leadership. What was often lacking is people recognized the problem but nobody stepped up and showed the leadership and then set what you might call a road map to go forward. I feel that's the important role that the sodium working group is tasked to do, to ask where we need to get to and how to get there, and then give some clear directions. It won't be up to us as individuals but collectively to the food suppliers to implement the recommendations.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you, Dr. L'Abbé.

Each individual on this panel has very good comments, and we want to make sure that everyone gets a chance.

We'll now go to Monsieur Malo.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

Thank you very much, Madam Chair.

Thank you very much for being with us today to discuss this very important matter.

When I hear people from the restaurant or food products industries—after all, we know that most of the salt consumed by the public essentially comes from those two sectors—when I hear them express satisfaction with voluntary targets, I really ask myself why. Is it because since the working group on dietary sodium reduction was established—since 2007, that is— they have put in place a strategy to make major reductions in salt in the products they provide to the public? Or, on the other hand, as we seem to be hearing, is it because they have to make sure that all the parties involved are working together because that is what the public wants? Or is it also to delay the implementation of a real strategy?

We know, of course, that measures that are voluntary—the word says it all—are not binding. It's “if we like“ and “if we feel that way inclined“. But the target that the working group set was to reduce salt intake by about 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams by 2016. That is six years. They want to go from 3,400 milligrams to 2,300 milligrams in six years.

Ms. Tanaka told us that it will take time before real changes in the manufacture of their products can be made. So I would like to ask the restaurant and food products people a question. Since 2007—that is three years ago now, quite a long time. Ms. Tanaka, you told us that it takes two years to change your products and your methods. So what has really been done since 2007 to put changes into effect? Will we be seeing a real revolution in reduced salt intake on our shelves and on the menus in our restaurants anytime soon, in weeks, in months?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Who would like to take that question?

We'll go to Ms. Tanaka.

[Phyllis Tanaka]

I can speak to the food processing side but not to the food service side. I'll leave that to Ron.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Ms. Tanaka, we'll have you and then Mr. Reaman.

[Phyllis Tanaka]

The food industry is, as I said in my remarks, engaged in the whole process of reducing sodium levels. On an individual corporate basis, each company has its own particular strategies for setting up a sodium reduction strategy.

The example I used, with respect to product reformulation, was to give everybody a bit of a visual idea of how long it will take if you take one product, and it's a straightforward product, and you say that you're going to reduce the sodium levels for just that one product. It's roughly about two years for that one product. That was just to give you a visual of the time it takes to do a product reformulation.

[Luc Malo, Bloc, Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC]

So will people be doing it one product at a time, meaning that all products might have been changed by 2200?

[Phyllis Tanaka]

The members of FCPC, who support the working group, all know what the targets are. The dietary consumption target is for 2016. It is to get the dietary consumption down to 2,300 milligrams.

Through the multi-stakeholder working group there's a process for all the individual food companies to engage in dialogue with Health Canada, and that process is going on right now. It began last fall. That process is to have the individual companies or sectors, as was mentioned by the dairy sector, sit down with Health Canada to look at proposed targets that food categories can work towards to bring the sodium down in a particular food category. That's going on right now. The food companies that work for FCPC have been having one-on-one discussions with Health Canada towards that end. Ultimately, part of the goal of the working group is to get those targets in place. They will be the targets that industry is aiming to get to by 2016 for the food categories.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Ms. Tanaka, I guess you're not going to share your time.

[Phyllis Tanaka]

No, I'm finished. Sorry.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

We only have a minute left. Would you mind if Mr. Reaman had a chance?

Thank you.

[Ron Reaman]

Thanks. No worries.

From my perspective, in terms of our sector, it's not unlike what Phyllis is talking about. When you are considering the large national chain operations, they function, essentially, as typical food processors might in terms of developing internal strategies for sodium reduction. As I sit around the board table with my directors.... Many of those companies, let me assure you, are already very much engaged in that process. They are genuinely committed to looking at this issue and are already working to reduce sodium. Will we see reductions in menu items on offer? Yes, I believe you will see that. I know you will. You already are.

I think the other key point I'd like to make with respect to my industry is that there are over 85,000 restaurants across this country. Many of them are independent operators. We're working to educate those members so that they are implementing different operational realities in their restaurants as well.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you, Mr. Reaman.

We'll now go to Ms. Leslie.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you all for your presentations. They were very informative.

Just to get it on the record, I'm not a huge fan of the voluntary reductions. I don't see that they're necessarily going to work. The U.S. Institute of Medicine has shown that they have little, if any, effect.

Mr. Samis, I have a question for you about Heart Check. Heart Check is voluntary, right?

[Stephen Samis]

Yes, but it's called Health Check.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Oh, sorry. Health Check is voluntary.

You mentioned that it's a successful program, and folks have signed up. Companies have signed up voluntarily, and they're benefiting from getting the label. Is that right?

[Stephen Samis]

Yes, it is a voluntary program. We have no authority to demand that companies join the program. Companies join the program. There are set nutrition criteria, broken down into about 80 categories, depending on the type of food, and companies have to meet those criteria to get into the program.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

In exchange, they get that little logo that indicates to the consumer--

[Stephen Samis]

They get that Health Check logo.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

I find that really interesting, and I see that as a counter to this idea that there is no demand out there for products with lower sodium.

Ms. L'Abbé, as a nutrition scientist, would you be able to tell us about the Canadian palate? Isn't it possible to reduce the need of our palate for salt? It could be swift, it could be a slightly moderate length of time, but it is possible to reduce that need.

[Dr. Mary L'Abbé]

Yes, scientific research has shown that the change in palate or the acclimatization of sodium takes anywhere between three weeks and three months.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Three weeks.