Question Period Note: Healthy eating strategy

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• In October 2016, Health Canada launched the multi-year Healthy Eating Strategy, which consists of a suite of initiatives that aim to improve the food environment and help make the healthier choice the easier choice for all Canadians. Recognizing that a healthy population is key to reducing vulnerability to health events, the 2021 Minister of Health mandate letter included a commitment to promote healthy eating by advancing the Healthy Eating Strategy. This included finalizing front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labelling and supporting restrictions on the commercial marketing of food and beverages to children.
• Obesity and diet-related chronic diseases are critical issues for Canadians and the Canadian health care system.
• Our Government is committed to protecting the health of Canadians and creating conditions to make the healthier choice easier for all.
• Significant progress has been made in recent years on healthy eating initiatives by improving nutrition labelling, eliminating industrially produced trans fats in the food supply, releasing a new Canada’s Food Guide, publishing new sodium reduction targets for processed foods and introducing front-of-package nutrition labelling.
• This government remains committed to supporting restrictions on the commercial marketing of food and beverages to children and continues to advance work on this initiative.

IF PRESSED ON FRONT-OF-PACKAGE NUTRITION LABELLING…
• As part of Health Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy, front-of-package nutrition labelling regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on July 20, 2022.
• FOP nutrition labelling aims to help reduce risks to health by providing consumers with quick and easy-to-use information on foods high in saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium.
• Average intakes of these nutrients remain above recommended limits in the Canadian population. Unhealthy diets with high levels of these nutrients are risk factors for overweight and obesity, hypertension, and chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (i.e., heart disease and stroke), some cancers and type 2 diabetes.
• The FOP nutrition symbol will complement existing labelling policies and other initiatives, such as the Nutrition Facts table and Canada’s Food Guide, to help Canadians make informed decisions.

IF PRESSED ON EXEMPTIONS FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS …
• FOP nutrition labelling aims to help reduce risks to health by providing consumers with quick and easy-to-use information on foods high in sodium, sugars and/or saturated fat.
• To ensure the policy is effective, exemptions are only provided in specific circumstances. For example, when there is evidence that a food provides a protective effect on health, such as whole and 2% milk.
• Although cheese is a top contributor to sodium and saturated fat intakes, it is also an important source of calcium in Canadian diets - a nutrient of public health concern due to inadequate intakes among Canadians.
• Health Canada determined that cheese, yogurt, kefir and buttermilk meeting a certain calcium threshold will be eligible for an exemption due to Canadians’ inadequate intakes of calcium.
• To help support healthier choices with respect to exempted foods, Health Canada will launch a consumer education and awareness campaign following implementation of the regulations.

IF PRESSED ON RETAIL SCALE LABELS …
• FOP nutrition symbols will be required on products with labels printed using retail scales to ensure consistent application of the FOP policy.
• Keeping the design of the FOP symbol consistent on most packages will allow consumers to quickly and easily identify foods high in sodium, sugars and/or saturated fat.
• However, Health Canada acknowledges the challenges associated with retail scale labelling, and has provided additional flexibilities.
• For example, a separate FOP symbol sticker can be applied if retail establishments are not able to print the FOP nutrition symbol directly on the label.
• A webinar was held September 22 and 27, 2022 (EN/FR) to explain the regulations and guidance to stakeholders. Health Canada welcomes any feedback that may help address these issues and could be incorporated into the next version of the guidance document.

IF PRESSED ON THE TRANSITION PERIOD …
• Regulated parties have been given a transition period for the FOP nutrition labelling requirements, ending on December 31, 2025.
• The compliance date of January 1, 2026 aligns with the joint Health Canada and Canadian Food Inspection Agency Food Labelling Coordination Policy (FLCP).
• This policy was developed, in part, to provide greater predictability with respect to the compliance dates for changes to food labelling requirements. It establishes compliance date options for food labelling requirements at a two-year interval, beginning on January 1, 2026.
• Health Canada recognizes the resources involved in making label changes and acknowledges that the food industry has faced additional challenges related to COVID-19 and supply chain issues.
• However, Health Canada considers that aligning with the FLCP’s first compliance date provides sufficient time for regulated parties to make the necessary changes to their labels, if required, while ensuring that the benefits of the initiative are not further delayed.

IF PRESSED ON ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN OR BILL C-252…
• As outlined in my Mandate letter, our Government is committed to supporting restrictions on the commercial marketing of foods and beverages to children, in order to protect them from the risks of chronic diseases caused by an unhealthy diet.
• We are progressing on this commitment. In September 2022, we supported further consideration of my colleague’s Private Member’s Bill C-252, the Child Health Protection Act as a way to help protect children from the influence of advertising of certain foods.
• In June 2021, four industry associations launched a self-regulatory advertising code, to be implemented by the summer of 2023. We appreciate their efforts to develop a new code but this government believes industry self-regulation is not enough to protect children.
• As Bill C-252 advances through the parliamentary process, Health Canada will continue reviewing international initiatives, new evidence, as well as the results of its monitoring activities on food advertising practices to children to determine an appropriate approach to further supporting restrictions in Canada.
• As Health Canada moves forward, it remains committed to engaging with all key stakeholders, including health and industry organizations.

IF PRESSED ON CANADA’S FOOD GUIDE…
· The food guide was released in January 2019.
· Canada’s food guide is based on a rigorous scientific process using the best available evidence and extensive consultation.
· The food guide provides Canadians with easier access to information about healthy eating. It provides advice on what to eat and recognizes that healthy eating is more than food choices, by encouraging healthy eating habits.
· Health Canada continues to develop new resources for various audiences to increase reach, integration, and use of the food guide.

IF PRESSED ON EVIDENCE…
· Health Canada follows a rigorous scientific process in reviewing pertinent evidence when developing policies related to the Healthy Eating Strategy.
· Health Canada focuses on the strongest evidence, where there is a well-established evidence base on public health need, and where the evidence is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Health Portfolio Initiatives

Unhealthy diet is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease, which are becoming more and more common in Canada. This places a significant burden on the health of Canadians and our healthcare system. Health Portfolio’s healthy eating initiatives aim to improve the food environment and help make the healthier choice the easier choice for all Canadians.

Improve nutrition information and literacy

Canada’s food guide
• The 2019 Canada’s food guide provides Canadians with easier access to dietary guidance.
• The revision strengthens healthy eating recommendations and communicates guidance in ways that better meet the needs of different users, such as the public, policy makers and health professionals.
• The food guide snapshot provides a summary of the dietary guidelines and healthy eating recommendations, and is available in 31 languages, including nine Indigenous languages, making it more accessible for Canadians.
• Health Canada continues to work and engage with interested parties and the public to make sure that guidance and resources are relevant and useful. This includes integrating a diversity and inclusion lens into food guide content and supporting Indigenous partners in the development of healthy eating tools for Indigenous Peoples.

Improve the Nutrition Facts table and list of ingredients
• In December 2016, Health Canada published final amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations on nutrition labelling and food colours, to make the Nutrition Facts table (NFt) and list of ingredients (LOI) on packaged foods easier for Canadians to use and understand.
• The transition period for these changes ended on December 14, 2021. However, in response to industry feedback related to challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, flexibility will be provided to support the food industry. For the first year (until December 14, 2022), the CFIA will focus its efforts on education and compliance promotion.
• As of December 15, 2022, regulated parties must be compliant with the new regulations.

Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labelling
• On July 20, 2022, Health Canada published FOP nutrition labelling regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part II.
• FOP nutrition labelling aims to help reduce risks to health by providing consumers with quick and easy-to-use information on foods high in saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium.
• Regulated parties have been given a transition period for the FOP nutrition labelling requirements, ending on December 31, 2025.

Facilitate healthier food options

Reduce sodium in processed foods
• In 2012, Health Canada established voluntary sodium reduction targets for processed foods and encouraged the food industry to achieve these targets by the end of 2016.
• In 2018, Health Canada released a progress report that showed that Canadians daily sodium intake was reduced from 3400 to 2760 mg which remain above the goal of 2300 mg per day.
• In December 2020, Health Canada released revised voluntary sodium targets for processed foods to encourage the food industry to further reduce sodium in foods by 2025.
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Eliminating industrially produced trans fats in the food supply
• On September 17, 2018, Health Canada prohibited the use of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs), the main source of industrial trans fat, in Canada. . The prohibition included a two year phase-in period; therefore, as of September 2020 no foods sold in Canada are permitted to contain PHO.
• Health Canada’s prohibition will help achieve the public health objective of reducing total trans fat intake by the great majority of Canadians to less than 1% of total energy intake, as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Protect and support vulnerable populations

Restrict the advertising of certain foods to children
• Between 2016 and 2019, Health Canada engaged extensively on a policy proposal to comprehensively restrict advertising to children of foods that contribute to excess intakes of sodium, sugars and saturated fat. Concurrently, Bill S-228, tabled in the Senate in 2016, proposed a federal M2K prohibition, but did not come to a final vote before the 2019 federal election
• In June 2021, a cohort of industry stakeholders publicly announced a new self-regulatory Code governing food advertising to children, to be implemented by summer of 2023.
• In February 2022, Ms. Patricia Lattanzio, M.P. (Liberal) introduced a Private Member’s Bill (Bill C-252 – Child Health Protection Act) to prohibit food and beverage marketing directed at children. September 28 2022, it passed Second Reading and was referred to Committee (HESA) for further review.
Interdepartmental collaboration
· In June 2019, the Government of Canada launched the first-ever Food Policy for Canada, an investment of $134.4 million over five years. As part of the Government of Canada’s Food Policy for Canada, the government announced its intention in Budget 2019 to work with provinces and territories towards the creation of a national school food program. This commitment was reaffirmed in Budget 2022.
• Employment and Social Development Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are the lead departments on school food, however other departments, including Health Canada, would provide advice on policies and standards to ensure alignment with recommendations in Canada’s food guide.
• In 2022, the Parliamentary Secretary of Health and Sport was mandated by the Minister of Health to work across government departments and with relevant stakeholders to encourage and support Canadians to adopt healthier lifestyles. The main objective of this work is to help address and reduce risk factors for chronic diseases primarily caused by physical inactivity and poor diet. A Healthy Living Task Force was struck to support this mandate and includes representatives from Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, and Sport Canada.

• Obesity and diet-related chronic diseases are critical issues for Canadians and the Canadian health care system.
• There is a strong body of evidence showing that healthy eating patterns can reduce the risk of obesity and chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and type 2 diabetes.
• Since 2016, our Government has taken a number of steps to help make it easier to choose heathier foods.
• Significant progress has been made in recent years on healthy eating initiatives by improving nutrition labelling, eliminating industrially produced trans fats in the food supply, releasing a new Canada’s Food Guide, publishing new sodium reduction targets for processed foods and introducing front-of-package nutrition labelling.
• The 2019 Canada’s food guide provides Canadians with easier access to information about healthy eating.
• The FOP nutrition labelling regulations were published on July 20, 2022, with a compliance date of January 1, 2026 for the food industry to make any necessary changes to their labels.
• Health Canada also continues to advance work on restricting food advertising to children