Nutrition marketing on processed food packages in Canada: 2010 Food Label Information Program

Abstract

The current study describes the frequency of use of different forms of nutrition marketing in Canada and the nutrients and conditions that are the focus of nutrition marketing messages. Prepackaged foods with a Nutrition Facts table (N = 10,487) were collected between March 2010 and April 2011 from outlets of the 3 largest grocery chains in Canada and 1 major western Canadian grocery retailer. The nutrition marketing information collected included nutrient content claims, disease risk reduction claims, and front-of-pack nutrition rating systems (FOPS). We found that nutrition marketing was present on 48.1% of Canadian food packages, with nutrient content claims being the most common information (45.5%), followed by FOPS on 18.9% of packages. Disease risk reduction claims were made least frequently (1.7%). The marketing messages used most often related to total fat and trans fat (15.6% and 15.5% of nutrient content claims, respectively). Limiting total and trans fats is a current public health priority, as recommended by Health Canada and the World Health Organization. However, other nutrients that are also recommended to be limited, including saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars, were not nearly as prominent on food labels. Thus, greater emphasis should be placed by the food industry on these other important nutrients. Repeated data collection in the coming years will allow us to track longitudinal changes in nutrition marketing messages over time as food marketing, public health, and consumer priorities evolve.

Assessing nutrition and other claims on food labels: a repeated cross-sectional analysis of the Canadian food supply

“…nutrition information, ingredient lists, presence of nutrition marketing, price, Fig. 1 Overview of the types of nutrition and other claims displayed on food labels in the Canadian food supply 1 brand, container size, UPC code) [24]. FLIP is updated approximately every three years, which enables periodic evaluation of the nutrient content and nutritional quality of the Canadian food supply.…”

“…FLIP is updated approximately every three years, which enables periodic evaluation of the nutrient content and nutritional quality of the Canadian food supply. Two FLIP collections have been completed, one in 2010/11 (n = 10,487) and the second in 2013 (n = 15,342), as described elsewhere [24,25]. A 2017 collection is currently underway.…”

“…Nutrition claims on food labels collected in FLIP 2013 were classified according to the types and subtypes defined in the previous data collection [24]. See Fig.…”

“…See Fig. 1 c) 'General health claims' [15], specifically front-ofpack (FOP) claims by specific subtype: nutrient specific systems (NSS), summary indicator systems (SIS), food group/ingredient systems (FGIS), and hybrid systems (HS) were classified as described earlier [24,29]. In addition, calorie specific systems (CSS) were included since they have appeared on labels after 2010.…”

“…2). The decision tree was based on methodology previously published [24,[29][30][31]. Briefly, these classifications included the use of symbols to convey information on the amount of select nutrients (e.g., vitamins or minerals) or calories per serving, the presence of a food group or ingredient (e.g., whole grain, milk), summary information on the overall nutrition profile of a food using a single symbol/ score, and hybrid systems when two or more of the previous front-of-pack systems were displayed [24,[29][30][31].…”