Canadian Food Industry fully introduces nutrition labels for consumers

13/12/05 The food industry is fully behind the nutrition label initiative providing information to consumers on packaged food.

"With more than two out of three Canadians looking to product labels as a source of nutrition information, many companies changed their labels well in advance of the government's December 12th deadline to meet consumers' growing appetite for information about the nutrition content of the foods they are selecting," says Nancy Croitoru, President & CEO, Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC). "All Canadians now have access to consistent nutrition information across many food categories," says Croitoru.

The new labels, introduced by the federal government in 2003, show the amount of calories and 13 core nutrients on most food packages. Companies had until December 12th to include the labels on their products. However, it will take a few months for all products on shelves to reflect the new label. There are some minor exemptions from the labelling regulations including single ingredient products such as fresh fruit and vegetables, and raw meat and poultry that are not ground. Small businesses with less than $1 million in sales have an extension until December 12, 2007.

Significant resources were required by companies to make label changes to the thousands of food and beverage products available on store shelves. Collectively, the food industry committed more than $260 million over three years to make label changes, which included major packaging redesign efforts to accommodate English and French Nutrition Facts tables, as well as nutrient analysis, translation and printing.

Through Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), the food industry has been working with government and other stakeholders for more than 10 years to bring Canadians consistent, easy-to-read nutrition information on packages. In the early 1980's, food companies adopted voluntary nutrition labelling as a first step towards providing more information to consumers. To help the industry with the label changes, Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) developed a practical, step-by-step reference guide in collaboration with package design experts and organized a workshop with participation from Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

To help consumers interpret the nutrition information on labels, the food industry is a proud supporter of Healthy Eating is in Store For You, an education program developed by Dietitians of Canada and the Canadian Diabetes Association. The program educates Canadians on how to use the new Nutrition Facts information to make healthy food choices. Canadians are encouraged to visit the program's web site at http://www.healthyeatingisinstore.ca and take advantage of the resources.

Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC) is the industry association representing the largest number of Canadian-operated member companies that make and market retailer and national brands sold through retail and foodservice outlets. The industry employs more than 350,000 Canadians, making it the largest employer in the manufacturing sector, and annually contributes more than five million bags of groceries to food banks across Canada.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2005/12/c5760.html