Food Labels

This is of fundamental importance in equipping people with awareness of what they eat.

 

  • Canada
  • United States
  • European Union
  • Australia
  • point of purchase programs

Canada

The Nutrition Facts table is mandatory on most pre-packaged foods. The Nutrition Facts table has a consistent format and provides information on calories and 13 nutrients:

fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fibre, sugars, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.


Check out Health Canada’s Interactive Nutrition Facts Table and Interactive Food Label Quiz to learn more about the six components of the Table!

United States

European Union

Australia

Point of Purchase Programs

Point-of-Purchase Nutrition Programs:

  • Increase nutrition awareness
  • Help consumers make healthy food choices by simplifying the process
  • Lack of standardized nutrient criteria across POP Nutrition Programs may cause confusion

In 2006, Dietitians of Canada developed an Evidence-Based Background paper on point-of-purchase nutrition programs due to the proliferation of these programs.

 

Examples of POP Nutrition Programs include:

 



More niacin than chocolate chips. And no sugar!