When Zero Doesn't Equal Zero
There's an interesting article in Maclean's magazine this month that talks about a loophole of sorts in Canada's nutritional labeling requirements, which may mean that you are unknowingly consuming trans-fats. It appears that food companies can use the marketing claim of "0 grams of trans-fat" if the product contains less than 0.2 grams of trans-fat per serving.
And of course, where there is a loophole, you had better believe that food companies are going to exploit it. The article takes a critical look at some products that make the claim of 0 grams of trans-fats, and notes that although trans-fat content has gone down, there remains trace amount of trans-fats in many of our favourite snack foods.
Apparently Health Canada is aware of the loophole and is working to fix it.
What I'm hoping Health Canada will consider is in addition to amending what marketing claims can be made by food companies, that they also consider standardizing serving sizes for broad categories of foods. Not only would that make the comparison of nutritional information between products easier on the consumer, it would negate many opportunities for companies to take advantage of any loopholes that may exist in labeling requirements.
For example, if a product is tested and it's found to contain 0.2 grams of trans-fat in a 32 gram serving (which would allow them to make a "zero grams of trans-fat" claim), while 0.21 grams of trans-fat is found in a 33 gram serving (which would exclude them from being able to make a "zero grams of trans-fat" claim), guess which serving size they would be more inclined to print on the nutritional label?
While I'm sure the food companies would despise any further regulation on their industry, food plays such an integral part in human health and well-being that it becomes difficult to not further regulate the business of food (and by extension, agricultural production). This may sound somewhat alarmist, but if you stop and ponder just how many of the health scares in modern history are linked to food and diet (E. coli, Mad Cow Disease, scurvy, obesity, coronary heart disease, death-inducing allergies, and the list goes on), it makes you wonder how we can allow the continuation of status quo.
And of course, where there is a loophole, you had better believe that food companies are going to exploit it. The article takes a critical look at some products that make the claim of 0 grams of trans-fats, and notes that although trans-fat content has gone down, there remains trace amount of trans-fats in many of our favourite snack foods.
Apparently Health Canada is aware of the loophole and is working to fix it.
What I'm hoping Health Canada will consider is in addition to amending what marketing claims can be made by food companies, that they also consider standardizing serving sizes for broad categories of foods. Not only would that make the comparison of nutritional information between products easier on the consumer, it would negate many opportunities for companies to take advantage of any loopholes that may exist in labeling requirements.
For example, if a product is tested and it's found to contain 0.2 grams of trans-fat in a 32 gram serving (which would allow them to make a "zero grams of trans-fat" claim), while 0.21 grams of trans-fat is found in a 33 gram serving (which would exclude them from being able to make a "zero grams of trans-fat" claim), guess which serving size they would be more inclined to print on the nutritional label?
While I'm sure the food companies would despise any further regulation on their industry, food plays such an integral part in human health and well-being that it becomes difficult to not further regulate the business of food (and by extension, agricultural production). This may sound somewhat alarmist, but if you stop and ponder just how many of the health scares in modern history are linked to food and diet (E. coli, Mad Cow Disease, scurvy, obesity, coronary heart disease, death-inducing allergies, and the list goes on), it makes you wonder how we can allow the continuation of status quo.
posted by Sergeant Pepper at
10:07 PM
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