Health Committee on May 6th, 2010

[Doug Sparks]

No, no. We do not have an opinion on whether it's enforced or not. We do not have an opinion on that, because we offer options that.... This is really a decision about what ingredients the end user is providing. I think our position is that if enforcement does go forward, it's very difficult to ensure that it's categorized in a way that gets you to where you want to be.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Okay, but I'm still trying to clarify what you would advise this committee's report to recommend.

[Sean McPhee]

Can I have a go at it?

[Doug Sparks]

Yes, please do.

[Sean McPhee]

I think what we're saying, in line with our earlier comments about the contribution of imported foods and naturally occurring trans fat from ruminant sources--dairy and meat--is that we need to better understand both the sources and the levels of trans fat in a given diet in order for the right regulatory target to be chosen. If we're shooting at the wrong target, then we're not advancing public policy. We think that those--

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

You're saying more research is needed, and more time.

[Sean McPhee]

Yes.

Allow me to add that from what I've heard from Health Canada this morning, it sounds as though that's the direction they're heading in.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Do any of the other witnesses want to suggest what recommendations would be most effective in addressing the problem of trans fats in the Canadian diet, in terms of what the report might say?

[Ron Reaman]

I'll jump in because I think it's pretty straightforward from my perspective.

I want to clarify that the regulation would not, as I understand it, aim for 1%. That's the intake-level objective of the regulation. The regulation should follow the report recommendations of 2% for soft margarines and oils and 5% for all other products. That's how we get the population down to 1% in terms of intake levels.

I would concur with Sally wholeheartedly. I think the recommendation from this committee should read that the government implement the recommendations of the trans fat task force in as timely a manner as possible, and I would agree that just signalling both a commitment and a timeframe would be very helpful, certainly for my industry.

[Paul Hetherington]

As the minister announced and brought forward a voluntary approach, I think it's important that we ascertain exactly where industry is with regard to that voluntary approach.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Would you say that a recommendation of the task force should be to talk more with industry?

[Paul Hetherington]

No, not talk more, but as I said in my statement, go out and monitor exactly where trans consumption is in the food supply. It could be done fairly quickly in the grand scheme of things, I would offer.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Thank you.

Are there any other comments in terms of my question about whether Health Canada or perhaps industry is vulnerable to lawsuits from the public or from people who may be affected by a death in the family related to consumption of trans fats? Do you have any opinion on whether Health Canada might be vulnerable to being sued in the way we saw in the tobacco situation?

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

We're going to have to answer that very quickly. Who would like to take that?

Go ahead, Mr. Reaman.

[Ron Reaman]

I think it would be conjecture at best for us to try to answer that question, so I don't know.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

Thank you.

Go ahead, Ms. McLeod.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all the witnesses.

The one piece I want to pick up on, and perhaps this is for Mr. Godefroy, is this monitoring program. Can you tell me a little more? Unfortunately, we received many of the documents this morning, so I haven't had time. You monitored how many times? Is there an intention to do another snapshot of where we're at? Where are we going with that?

[Dr. Samuel Godefroy]

The monitoring program was focused to try to capture as much information as possible on the sources of intake of trans fats. It was essentially focusing on those foods that were known to have higher levels, so it focused at first on the prepackaged food sectors. Essentially a sampling plan was developed to capture over 80% of the market share for the prepackaged food sector. About 1100 food items were analyzed over a two-year period. We mobilized three government laboratories in Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Toronto to do that type of analysis. We also checked the nutrition facts tables to look at their effectiveness in indicating the levels of trans fats and compared the levels on the label to the levels found by laboratory analysis.

We focused also on the other sectors. It was essentially the food service sector with a focus on the major food chains, but there were also other areas where we knew there might be a potentially significant intake of trans fat. We also surveyed ethnic restaurants, cafeterias, and small and medium-sized restaurants.

As I indicated, that monitoring program was essential for us to capture information on our intake of trans fat. I have provided you with the preliminary estimate, which is that we have gone down to 3.4 grams per day, or having 1.4% of the energy provided by trans fat.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

This is the process that has happened. We've heard this is 2008 data; we don't have a 2010 snapshot. Has that program come to an end? Is there any intention to do another snapshot?

[Dr. Samuel Godefroy]

We'll have to see whether there is a need for another snapshot and whether there has been an evolution since then.

We have, of course, the nutrition facts table, which we've actually verified now as a good tool. We have shown the effectiveness of it, and at least in the prepackaged sector we can rely on the information it provides on the levels of trans fat. We also have data about Canadians' consumption in that regard.

The most immediate step that we wanted to go through was to submit the data that was collected to a rigorous review of the scientific process. That's what our scientists have done in submitting the information to a critical review by their peers. That critical review came back in March 2010, and we were able to make the information available in the international scientific literature.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

We've also heard of particular concern about some imports, in particular from the United States. Can you tell me whether they are undergoing a similar effort right now? How big a problem is that for Canadians?

We've just talked a little bit about it. We've heard of some quite dramatic things in Europe, but what is happening in the United States, and how big is the impact of those products that are coming into Canada?

[Dr. Samuel Godefroy]

We're in discussion with our colleagues at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and there is already interest on the part of the U.S. FDA to look at decreasing the level of trans fat. It's a North American problem, as mentioned. It's not only a Canadian problem in that regard.

When we surveyed the products as part of the monitoring program, we did not discriminate between products manufactured in Canada and products coming from other countries. We were essentially looking at the supply as a whole and what is available on the shelf in prepackaged foods. The effect of imports has been captured as part of the data we collected within the parameters of that monitoring program.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Is their cracker industry, let's say, making the same efforts towards reduction that our industry is?

[Dr. Samuel Godefroy]

Our understanding is that there are international efforts in that regard, particularly across the North American border.

As we know, the food industry is a really integrated industry, particularly at the North American level. It's an integrated supply. We could say that what is happening in Canada has driven formulation down as well in the United States, at least for those who have reformulated.

[The Chair, Conservative, Joy Smith]

We'll now go to Ms. Leslie.