According to an article in this morning's Ottawa Citizen, only one-third of Canadians understand Canadian nutrition labels.
One problem Canadians report is when comparing labels. For instance, the nutrition label from a popular cereal box shown here bases its nutrient numbers on a 30 gram serving. If another cereal uses a 50 gram serving, a simple comparison is not so easily made.
Another problem is the number of people who don't know if the '% Daily Value' is or is not a lot of a particular nutrient. For instance, this cereal shows that a single serving represents 12 percent of a day's fibre. The question then is whether 12 percent is a little bit or a lot of fibre.
It is obvious to me then that if we want a healthier public that Health Canada should continue educating the public.
Sharing the '5-15' rule that helps a consumer to decipher the '% Daily Value' issue, seems simple enough. I usually try to make healthy choices but interestingly, I had never heard about the '5-15' rule until I read the paper this morning. The rule states that less than 5 percent is a little bit of a nutrient; more than 15 percent is a lot.
Sharing that rule and requiring food manufacturers to use standardized serving sizes seems simple enough to me, too. That would be two simple steps forward to helping consumers understand the nutrient labels on the products at the grocery store.
See you
in the kitchen.
Brenda
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