Evidence of meeting #53 for Health in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was foods.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
The cracker example is a good one because one of those examples, the four-cracker one, is a much thicker, denser cracker than the other one. The other one is more of a flaked, thin cracker. Just think of the cracker aisle at the store and the different options.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
I know, but if I'm looking at a box of crackers to decide which one I want to buy, I want the one that I can eat the most.
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
Based on the food guide, it goes back to recommended serving size. What are you going to eat in one sitting? Because of the size of the crackers--a thinner cracker versus a denser cracker--you would tend to eat nine of those and four of the other. That's the example.
I'm not going to dispute that it's confusing, but I'm saying there's a rationale as to why it's structured that way. You're dealing with different densities, sizes, and types of products.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Is there any intent to move to a standardized serving size that reflects the Canada Food Guide, or to something else that would be simpler for the general public to understand?
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
This example does reflect the Canada Food Guide. Once again, for lack of a better comparison, you're dealing with nine smaller crackers and four bigger crackers.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
What could we use that would be simpler, that people could understand?
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
I think it's nine and four.
Once again, the premise of the table, the food guide, is that it's for the average person, but as Nathalie said, a child is going to be different from my grandfather, who is going to be different from my 35-year-old brother.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
This example is done on weight. Something else is done on volume or something else. How does the public know?
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
The comparison is there. I don't know what else to say, to be honest. It's based on comparable servings of food. You would eat a bowl of cereal versus a bowl of cereal. It might be denser, thicker oat granola type of cereal versus a flake cereal. It might be bigger crackers and smaller crackers.
The premise of the comparison at the top there is to compare two products in the same category. What would you eat of product A in a sitting, as opposed to what you would eat of product B in a sitting?
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Why wouldn't you have a cereal box, for example—a dense one and a not-so-dense one—and with this one I can eat a half cup, and with this one I can eat a cup? Your serving size would be on the box.
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
That is how it's structured. That's why there is the variability. It's so that it's not a cup and a cup, because you'd be like this.
Conservative
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
They do it based on what a person would eat.
I wish Health Canada were here to talk about the actual structure; I can speak to the application and how we use it.
This is a guideline schedule of the Food and Drugs Act that we follow. It is based on all the scientific modelling and research that was done to determine a serving size. It is based on the texture or density of a product compared to another product that might be the same, yet different.
Conservative
Patricia Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton, ON
Last fall the government announced the education campaign in partnership with your organization, I believe. How is that going? What role is your organization and Health Canada playing in this? Is the population getting educated? I don't see that they are.
Senior Vice-President, Public and Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy, Food and Consumer Products of Canada
We just started. We just launched it in October on TV. The television commercials are running through to the end of March. PSA rotation is continuing through to the end of the year.
We're doing ongoing media work. There's an in-store retail component. You'll see information on this soon in Walmart, Loblaws, Thrifty Foods, Sobeys West, Longo's--
Conservative
The Acting Chair Conservative Tim Uppal
Thank you. I'm going to have to cut you off there. Thank you very much.
We'll go to Monsieur Malo.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Décary-Gilardeau, I have had some homework for you. I know that you have identified a number of similar or comparable products for which the serving sizes shown on the nutrition fact sheet are completely different. So it is difficult for consumers to compare them. Could you provide us with a list of those products, if possible? I would also like to get a list of products for which the suggested serving size makes no sense. I am thinking, for instance, of a serving of “six chips”. Who eats six chips after opening a bag? Personally, I do not know of anyone who does that.
Ms. Jobin, you did not have time to finish your presentation and I would like to hear everything you had to say. Could you please finish your presentation?
Dietitian, Extenso, Nutrition reference centre of Université de Montréal, NUTRIUM
Of course. I had one other point to mention; it was about restaurants.
It should be possible to get nutrition information on standard items prepared and assembled on site and listed on the menus of restaurants and food services companies. It should be done consistently and be easily accessible. It should not be on a website, or on the back of the menu, or once a meal has been served because, at that point, it is difficult to send it back. So, it should be written in an easily accessible area, and be easy to read so that consumers know what they are eating when they go to a restaurant.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
You were telling us just now that there needs to be a level playing-field for some natural health products in the consumer products category. Could you tell us a little more about that?
Dietitian, Extenso, Nutrition reference centre of Université de Montréal, NUTRIUM
Actually, it is about not giving them a level playing-field. I do not know if you have ever encountered the situation I am about to describe, but I personally had to pay close attention to realize it.
In the fruit juice section, for instance, some are governed by the Food and Drugs Act. The nutrition facts appear on the container and there are requirements related to that. Next to them, there are small individual juices which are considered natural health products because they have added vitamins, various antioxidants, and so on. So they did not take the same route as foods. However, they are placed next to food on grocery store shelves. Those juices are being bought specifically for children. I happen to believe it could be harmful for some children to consume a lot of them, because a lot of vitamins and minerals have been added. If children take supplements as well, it may turn out to be excessive.
In my opinion, natural health products have no place on grocery store shelves. They should be kept apart so people really know what to expect when they go to that section and do not confuse those products with foods governed by much stricter legislation.
Dietitian, Extenso, Nutrition reference centre of Université de Montréal, NUTRIUM
Currently we have a loophole. It allows some large manufacturers, who know full well that they would not be able to comply with the Food and Drugs Act, to offer their enriched products as natural health products without anyone noticing. We have to tighten this area a bit more because some manufacturers currently take advantage of this loophole.
Bloc
Luc Malo Bloc Verchères—Les Patriotes, QC
Thank you.
Mr. Décary-Gilardeau, you did not finish answering the question I had asked you earlier.
Agrifood Analyst, Representation and Research Department, Option consommateurs
I brought a sheet on NuVal that I printed this morning. Price Chopper purchased this system in the United States. I would not go so far as to say that the NuVal system is perfect. NuVal contains 16 pages of calculations about a large number of nutrients and assigns a score. For example, broccoli would get a score of 100. This system enables you to compare similar products and to rate them. For instance, here we have three types of chips with scores ranging from 18 to 38, depending on the type of oil used, the quantity of salt and other factors.
There are also simplified nutritional tables such as the traffic light labelling system. Those are two sources of information that we could include on the products.
So there are several tools available. I am not suggesting one in particular, but this one is really being increasingly used in United States now. I think that it would be worthwhile studying it. It is certainly not perfect either. Since nothing is standardized, there is a vacuum, which basically allows Kraft and Nestlé to come up with their own logos. That in turn results in endless confusion. So we need to fill the gap, otherwise, in my opinion, nothing will be done.
Conservative