The federal government wants to help you make healthier eating choices.
So it's introducing a slew of measures including revamping Canada's colourful food guide pyramid, putting nutrition labels on the front of packaging that are more simple and clear, putting in tougher restrictions on marketing of food and drink aimed at children and eliminating "industrially-produced" trans fats.
Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott made the announcement in Montreal at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.
Philpott said the food guide is outdated and should be revised to address individuals' needs such as allergy concerns.
Philpott said they are looking at following Quebec's lead on limitations on advertising food to children - in 1980, Quebec banned advertisements for toys and fast food aimed at children under 13 in print and electronic media. So for example, tv shows with an audience made up of at least 15 per cent of kids cannot air child-targeted ads. Companies who violate that section of the Quebec Consumer Protection Act are subject to hefty fines.
Philpott said front-of-packaging labels will help decipher some of the nutritional lingo on the ubiquitous nutrition facts tables on the side of that cereal box or cookie bag.
"Nutritional facts tables are sometimes difficult to read. Sugar, for example, comes in a whole number of names, it's disguised, if you were, by other names. So our introductions and our changes to the nutritional facts tables will mean that all sugars are going to be called sugar," said Philpott to reporters.
Philpott said food manufacturers are welcome to comment on the proposals about the overhauled food guide via public consultations underway until December 8, but "they will not have impact on the advice given in the (food) guide."
Philpott said she's confident food manufacturers will get on board.
"As we make changes, as we say that we're going to slap a label on the front of this product if it's got more than 15% of the daily value of salt, sugar and fat, for example, then they're going to start to reformulate. And we've seen this in other countries around the world, that as a number of regulatory mechanisms get put into place, it forces industry to lower the content just as we've wanted them to do," said Philpott.
Another of the strategies includes setting new targets for food manufacturers to reduce sodium in processed and restaurant food.
The changes are expected to take place over the next five to ten years. Front-of-packaging labelling for sugar, sodium and transfat content should be in place by next year and the elimination of industrially-produced transfats, by 2018.