Nutrition Facts Education Campaign to help consumers choose healthier foods

Toronto – Food and retail organizations and government came together to launch the second phase of the Nutrition Facts Education Campaign (NFEC).

The aim of NFEC is to help Canadian families make more informed food choices.

Campaign partners include the Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), the Retail Council of Canada (RCC), the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) and Canada’s Ministry of Health.

The campaign’s theme, which is Focus on the Facts, encourages Canadians – especially parents of children age 2 to 12 – to use the Serving Size in the Nutrition Facts table (NFt) on packaged foods to compare similar foods.

New NFEC campaign messages will appear on food packaging sold by 21 leading food companies and will be promoted on in-store material and at retail events (through 10 grocery retail chains and independent grocers). Since 2010 more than one billion food products featuring on-package NFEC messaging were distributed across Canada.

“Research shows that the NFt on food and beverage packages is the best way for busy Canadians to learn about the products they choose,” explains Nancy Croitoru, president and CEO of the FCPC.

“Health Canada and industry have partnered to help Canadians better understand how to read the table and how to use it, as an essential and helpful nutrition informational tool.”

By using the Serving Size and Per Cent Daily Value, consumers can choose foods that have more of the nutrients they want to consume, such as fibre and calcium, and less of those they don’t want, such as saturated and trans fats and sodium.

The campaign encourages consumers to look at the NFt and start with Serving Size, found under the header “Nutrition Facts;” then to look at Per Cent Daily Value (% DV) on the right side of the NFt.

Consumers can use the % DV to see if the Serving Size has a little or a lot of a nutrient – 5% DV or less is a little and 15% DV or more is a lot.

The idea is that as Canadians learn how to read and use the nutrition information on food labels, they are more likely to choose healthier foods.

The NFEC’s Focus on the Facts messages and tips will still apply for future changes to the NFt.

Serving size and Per Cent Daily Value are the core concepts behind the current NFt and are the focus of the campaign.

Mother and daughter shopping image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net