Thank you, Dr. Bose.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen.
Canadians are concerned about their health and that of their families. They know that healthy lifestyle and eating habits are key to good physical and mental health.
To help Canadians eat well and make the best choices possible, whether at a grocery store or in a restaurant, several strategies can be put in place. We will address two consumption issues: health claims and logos, and access to healthy foods.
We will start with health claims and logos. In recent years, we have witnessed a host of new health logos and claims appearing on the front of food packaging. While the nutrition facts table and list of ingredients enable a large segment of the population to be better informed of the nutritional content, logos also satisfy another need: having quick access to easily understood information.
Regardless of their income, Canadians have difficulty reading labels. In fact, only 45% of adult Canadians have sufficient numeracy skills to understand the nutrition fact table, and just 52% of Canadians are literate enough to understand complex wording, such as the list of ingredients. For these consumers, health claims and logos can play a significant role in their food choices. To achieve that, logos must meet certain criteria: for example they must be credible enough to communicate relevant information. Putting a healthy choice logo on Oreo cookies on the basis that they contain no trans fat, as Kraft did, is not appropriate, because Oreo cookies are very high in fat and sugar.
Health information and claims must also be truthful and not misleading for consumers. For example, indicating that a bag of chips is “cholesterol free” is accurate, but it may lead consumers to believe that that brand of chips is better for their health than a competitor's brand is, which is not necessarily the case.
Last year, we criticized a series of logos placed on products that contained very little nutritional value. I have brought some examples.
The second issue we want to address is access to healthy foods. It is inconceivable that, in Canada today, people are going hungry. Did you know that 48% of school children in Montreal are from underprivileged families? “A hungry stomach has no ears”, as Jean de La Fontaine said. The situation is worrisome. Today, because of the price of food and the low income levels of many consumers, we are starting to see a two-tier system: food for the rich and food for the poor. All too often, making healthy choices is costly.
While we applaud the industry's efforts to reduce the amount of trans fat, salt and sugar that is added to certain products, we believe there is a need for a comprehensive approach that applies to all products, not just niche products. We deplore the fact that, in 2011, efforts to provide people with quality foods are benefiting a minority only. We must not forget that household income is the most significant determinant of health. With the rising cost of living and food prices, this trend may become more widespread. That is why we have some recommendations for you.
First, Option consommateurs recommends that the Government of Canada tighten up the use of health claims and logos on processed food packages. That would help consumers make more informed choices. I think that the UK's traffic light labelling system was mentioned in a previous brief, but Doctor Katz and the NuVal system are other examples that we are following closely.
Option consommateurs also recommends that the government fast track the implementation of recommendations from the trans fat and sodium working groups, specifically the goals of reducing these products.
Finally, Option consommateurs recommends that the government encourage companies to further reduce quantities of trans fat, salt and sugar in all of their processed foods and not only in their niche products.
Thank you very much.