TY - JOUR
T1 - Policy recommendations for front-of-package, shelf, and menu labelling in Canada
T2 - Moving towards consensus
AU - Raine, Kim D.
AU - Ferdinands, Alexa R.
AU - Atkey, Kayla
AU - Hobin, Erin
AU - Jeffery, Bill
AU - Nykiforuk, Candace I.J.
AU - Vanderlee, Lana
AU - Vogel, Ellen
AU - von Tigerstrom, Barbara
N1 - Funding Information:
1. School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB 2. Public Health Ontario, Toronto, ON 3. Centre for Health Science and Law, Ottawa, ON; International Association of Consumer Food Organizations, Ottawa/London/Washington; and the Geneva Global Health Hub (G2H2), Geneva, Switzerland 4. Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON 5. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON 6. College of Law, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK Correspondence: Kim D. Raine, PhD, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 4-077 Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, 11405-87 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Tel: 780-492-9415, E-mail: kim.raine@ualberta.ca Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge Manuel Arango, Norm Campbell, Kate Chidester, Mary Collins, André Corriveau, Lucie Granger, David Hammond, Mary L’Abbé, Janice Macdonald, Soultana Macridis, Rachel Prowse, Kelly Stott, Jim Talbot, Mark Tremblay and Pat Vanderkooy for participating in the consensus conference process. This study was supported by the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer through a Coalitions Linking Actions and Science for Prevention grant. C. Nykiforuk received support as an Applied Public Health Chair from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions (2014–2019). L. Vanderlee is a CIHR Banting Postdoctoral Fellow. Conflict of Interest: None to declare.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Canadian Public Health Association or its licensor.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Greater availability of low nutritional quality foods and decreased consumption of nutrient-dense foods have negatively impacted the nutrient profile of the Canadian diet. Poor diet is now the leading risk factor for chronic disease and premature death in Canada. To help consumers choose healthful foods, nutrition labelling is one policy tool for communicating relevant nutrition information. However, there are notable shortcomings with current nutrition labelling systems, which make it difficult for Canadians to navigate the complex food environment. Government action on nutrition labelling systems, including front-of-package (FOP), shelf, and menu labelling, is required. In May 2016, we hosted a consensus conference with experts from research, policy and practice to review available evidence, share experiences and come to consensus regarding the next best steps for action on nutrition labelling in Canada. In this paper, we examine the evidence, opportunities and challenges surrounding FOP, shelf, and menu labelling. We outline recommendations, emphasizing FOP, shelf, and menu labelling as part of a standardized, coordinated and multi-pronged strategy supported by a robust, evidence-based nutrition profiling system. Recommendations for monitoring adherence to regulations and participation of stakeholders to avoid conflict of interest in policy development, implementation and evaluation are included. Within a comprehensive strategy, these recommendations can help to improve the nutrition information environment for Canadians.
AB - Greater availability of low nutritional quality foods and decreased consumption of nutrient-dense foods have negatively impacted the nutrient profile of the Canadian diet. Poor diet is now the leading risk factor for chronic disease and premature death in Canada. To help consumers choose healthful foods, nutrition labelling is one policy tool for communicating relevant nutrition information. However, there are notable shortcomings with current nutrition labelling systems, which make it difficult for Canadians to navigate the complex food environment. Government action on nutrition labelling systems, including front-of-package (FOP), shelf, and menu labelling, is required. In May 2016, we hosted a consensus conference with experts from research, policy and practice to review available evidence, share experiences and come to consensus regarding the next best steps for action on nutrition labelling in Canada. In this paper, we examine the evidence, opportunities and challenges surrounding FOP, shelf, and menu labelling. We outline recommendations, emphasizing FOP, shelf, and menu labelling as part of a standardized, coordinated and multi-pronged strategy supported by a robust, evidence-based nutrition profiling system. Recommendations for monitoring adherence to regulations and participation of stakeholders to avoid conflict of interest in policy development, implementation and evaluation are included. Within a comprehensive strategy, these recommendations can help to improve the nutrition information environment for Canadians.
KW - Chronic disease
KW - Consensus
KW - Food labelling
KW - Obesity
KW - Policy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85033580439&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.17269/cjph.108.6076
DO - 10.17269/cjph.108.6076
M3 - Comment/debate
C2 - 29120313
AN - SCOPUS:85033580439
SN - 0008-4263
VL - 108
SP - e409-e413
JO - Canadian Journal of Public Health
JF - Canadian Journal of Public Health
IS - 4
ER -
