Front of Package Nutrition Labels
You may have noticed that some packaged food has a new symbol on the front showing a magnifying glass. This symbol helps consumers identify foods and drinks that are high in saturated fat, sugars, and/or sodium. Regularly eating foods high in these can increase your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. These symbols can be used to quickly compare similar food products to help you make an informed choice.
Some information about these symbols include that they are always black and white and have “Health Canada” at the bottom to indicate that the government requires it.
Most packaged foods require the symbol but there are some that do not. Here are some reasons:
- The food is not high in saturated fat, sugars, or sodium
- That food has a health protection benefit, including foods such as vegetables and fruit
- Nutrition information is not required on that food such as whole cuts of raw meat with no other added ingredients.
- Symbol could appear redundant such as on packages of sugar or salt (includes seasoning salt, celery salt etc.)