Practices and Malpractice in Canadian Food Labelling

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Recommended: Importance of food regulations

Canada’s food labelling practices are very much a work-in-progress. Labelling itself is a very important issue as it affects both product sales for companies and personal health for consumers, especially since most Canadian consumers learn about nutrition from food labels themselves (Nguyen) and are especially inclined to trust labels (Gruère, Carter and Farzin). Through labelling law, government is also able to impose food standards on products. An extensive set of rules to govern every possible category of food product is used and adhered to in the food inspection process. Food labelling itself is mainly tied to issues of health and safety and consumer rights, but has also recently been involved in trade relations (which will not be discussed), as is the case with US-Canada labelling laws.

The practice of using misleading labelling that still complies with law has been done for some time. Still, legislation has been moving forward, starting in December 2002 when nutrition labelling was enforced in the Food and Drugs Regulations, which has since been amended in 2005 (HealthCanada). Whilst the government is taking a proactive stance towards labelling (partly due to consumer lobby groups), companies in the food industry are still able to produce misleading and/or uninformative labelling through simple manipulation of the English language and interpretation of law. Below, current legislation will be discussed, followed by company practices and the organic food market.

The current Food and Drugs Regulations appear quite solid. Definitions are made for a variety of terms such as “daily value”, and rules are made with very specific scopes, breaking down stakeholders (consumers, producers/retailers) into groups so that there is s...

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In conclusion, all aspects of food labelling, from nutrition facts to words and symbols, are all regulated to help provide consumers with accurate information about products. However, industry practices seeking to inflate product values through labelling or hide seemingly undesirable facts only serve to limit the consumers’ knowledge. Legislation attempts to deal with this, but food companies are still generally able to work around laws. If implemented correctly, the benefits of nutrition labelling according to the Food and Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), " over the next 20 years will save $5 billion in health costs in preventing cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, according to a government study." (Starphoenix). Sadly, labelling is still used as a method of influencing sales and international trade rather than helping consumers make good purchasing choices.

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