Packaged foods in Canada must carry new nutrition label by next year

Health Canada has launched a new nutrition symbol on grocery packages to help consumers identify foods high in saturated fat, sugars, and sodium. The governmental department hopes the initiative will lower the increasing rates of chronic disease.

Manufacturers have until January next year to update their labels, and some products already feature the symbol. 

The front-of-package (FOP) label was designed based on study findings and feedback from 14 focus groups in Canada. It complements the Nutrition Facts table and list of ingredients on the package’s back or side. A key aspect of this initiative is ensuring consistency in the label’s size and placement, making it easily identifiable for consumers.

“Creating the new FOP nutrition symbol took a few years of work. When I started at Health Canada in 2016, work on the Healthy Eating Strategy was just beginning, which included FOP labeling,” comments Emily Chen, scientific project coordinator, Knowledge Translation and Exchange Team, Bureau of Data, Science and Knowledge Integration, Food and Nutrition Directorate at Health Canada.

Testing four designs 

Chen’s project gathered data from diverse participants across Canada based on samples of four designs, sizes, and locations on food packages.

This helped her team identify signal wordings like “high in” and a visual icon to capture attention.

In the mock grocery store, participants wearing eye-tracking glasses completed tasks such as choosing a cereal, finding a snack bar high in sugars, or picking a yogurt for someone who wants to eat less saturated fat. 

Participants had various health literacy levels and were randomly assigned to a group that were exposed to products without FOP symbols or foods with one of the four FOP symbols.

Findings also support the inclusion of “Health Canada” within the symbol. Health Canada says the FOP symbol proved successful in making healthy choices.

Emily Chen, scientific project coordinator at Health Canada.“Health Canada’s FOP nutrition labelling regulations are based on scientific evidence, consumer research, stakeholder consultations, and lessons learned from other countries. It’s extra meaningful knowing that this symbol is grounded in studies with diverse consumers of varying health literacy levels and developed with everyday Canadians in mind,” says Chen. 

“The symbol may look simple, and that was the intent. It was designed to be clear and easy to use. It’s an effective tool to help consumers make informed decisions.”

FOP for high sodium foods

In related news, Health Canada warns that the food industry’s progress on sodium reduction is lacking. With the 2025 target (2,300 mg/day) looming, only “moderate progress” has been made. 

A new study in BMC Public Health reveals that Health Canada’s sodium reduction targets have the potential to prevent 219,490 cases of coronary heart disease and 164,435 strokes.

“Our results demonstrate that reducing sodium intakes through population-level strategies, such as implementing mandatory sodium reduction targets and ‘high in’ FOP label regulations, has the potential to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare expenditures in Canada,” reads the paper.