LET'S UNCOVER
SUGAR
A positive movement uncovering
hidden sugars in our foods
As concerned citizens we turn to Canada's food regulator, Health Canada, for answers. But besides new semi-helpful guidelines that will come into effect in 5 years and don't state the amount of sugar in foods and beverages in teaspoons, Health Canada isn't doing anything for the benefit of the public.
This year, Health Canada came out with new guidelines for food and drink labeling which would feature a percent daily value (% DV) for sugars so consumers can easily see how much sugar a food contains.
Footnotes at the bottom of the nutritional value table would state that, “less than five percent DV of sugar would be a low amount, while 15 percent or more would indicate a food with high sugar.” They propose you use the % Daily Value on the label to guide you as they state that any food with a % DV higher than 15 % likely has a lot of added sugar.
The problems:
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No differentiation between added sugars vs natural sugars
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No formal deadline for new food labeling
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5 years to implement changes.
