Minister of Health announcement to review Canada’s Food Guide

Today Oct 24th, 2016, the Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, announced that Health Canada started a process to revise Canada’s Food Guide to reflect the latest scientific evidence on diet and health, and to better support Canadians in making healthy food choices. The announcement was made during a keynote address at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

This announcement further signals the Government of Canada’s commitment to changing the food environment to help make the healthier food choice the easier choice for Canadians.

The multi-year Healthy Eating Strategy announced by the Minister includes initiatives on:

·         improving healthy eating information, including revising Canada’s Food Guide

·         protecting vulnerable populations, including restricting the commercial marketing of unhealthy foods and     beverages to children

·         strengthening labelling and claims, including finalizing changes to the nutrition facts table and list of ingredient requirements by the end of 2016, and consulting on front-of-package labelling for sugars, sodium and saturated fat

·         improving nutrition quality standards, including reducing sodium in prepackaged and restaurant foods, and consulting on eliminating the use of industrially produced trans fat in foods

·         supporting increased access to and availability of nutritious foods through the Nutrition North Canada program

Health Canada also remains committed to openness, transparency and meaningful engagement with the public and stakeholders on healthy eating initiatives. As such, Health Canada is changing the way it communicates with stakeholders. This new approach entails the disclosure of information on stakeholder meetings and correspondence sent to Health Canada outside of formal consultation processes. This approach applies to the following healthy eating initiatives:

·         front-of-package labelling

·         elimination of industrially produced trans fat

·         sodium reduction

·         marketing to kids

·         revision of Canada’s Food Guide

During the development of the new food guide, officials from the Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion will only seek expert advice from, and consult with, academics, health professional associations, health non-governmental organizations and federal, provincial and territorial officials.  All stakeholders and Canadians will have the opportunity to participate and provide feedback during the public consultations.

More information on the Healthy Eating Strategy and the new approach to communications and openness and transparency with stakeholders is available online.

If you are interested in knowing more about our Healthy Eating Strategy, contact us at healthyeating-sainealimentation@hc-sc.gc.ca