Abstract
BackgroundIn 2010, nutrition claims were investigated in Canadian foods; however, many nutrition and other claims have been introduced since then. This study aimed to determine: i) the proportion of foods carrying claims in 2013, ii) the types and prevalence of nutrition claims (nutrient content claims, health claims, general health claims) and other claims displayed on labels in 2013, iii) and trends in use of nutrition claims between 2010 and 2013.MethodsRepeated cross-sectional analysis of the University of Toronto Food Label Information Program (FLIP) of Canadian foods (2010/11 n = 10,487; 2013 n = 15,342). Regulated nutrition claims (nutrient content, health claims) were classified according to Canadian regulations. A decision tree was used to classify non-regulated general health claims (e.g., front-of-pack claims). Other claims (e.g., gluten-free) were also collected. Proportions of claims in 2013 were determined and χ2 was used to test significant differences for different types of claims between 2010 and 2013.ResultsOverall, 49% of products in 2013 displayed any type of claim and 46% of foods in FLIP 2013 carried a nutrition claim (nutrient content claim, health claim, general health claim). Meal replacements and fruits/fruits juices were the categories with the largest proportion of foods with claims. At least one approved nutrient content claim was carried on 42.9% of products compared to 45.5% in 2010 (p < 0.001). Health claims, specifically disease risk reduction claims, were slightly lower in 2013 (1.5%) compared to 1.7% in 2010 (p = 0.225). General health claims, specifically front-of-pack claims, were carried on 20% of foods compared to 18.9% in 2010 (p = 0.020). Other claims, specifically gluten-free, were present on 7.3% of foods.ConclusionsNutrition and other claims were used on half of Canadian prepackaged foods in 2013. Many claims guidelines and regulations have been released since 2010; however, little impact has been seen in the prevalence of such claims in the food supply. Claims related to nutrients of public health priority, such as sugars and sodium, were not commonly used on food labels. Monitoring trends in the use of nutrition and other claims is essential to determine if their use on food labels reflects public health objectives, or instead are being used as marketing tools.
Highlights
In 2010, nutrition claims were investigated in Canadian foods; many nutrition and other claims have been introduced since
Food label information program overview, data collection and data processing The Food Label Information Program (FLIP) database was developed at the University of Toronto and contains information found on the labels of Canadian pre-packaged food and beverage products
When we excluded products that carried gluten-free claims to identify products with only nutrition claims, we found that 46.1% of FLIP 2013 foods carried any type of nutrient content claim, disease risk reduction claim and/or front-of-pack claim (χ2 = 9.5, df = 1, p = 0.002)
Summary
In 2010, nutrition claims were investigated in Canadian foods; many nutrition and other claims have been introduced since . In Canada, mandatory nutrition labelling on pre-packaged food products was introduced in 2003 [13] and updated in late 2016 [14], requiring manufacturers to provide nutrition information (Nutrition Fact table and ingredients list) It established requirements for the voluntary use of nutrition claims (Fig. 1) including: nutrient content claims, which describe the amount of a nutrient in a food [15], such as “low in sodium” or “very high in fibre”, and health claims, which are statements about the healthful effects of a certain food or food constituents consumed within a healthy diet on a person’s health, and which comprise the following subtypes: disease risk reduction claims (e.g., “a healthy diet rich in a variety of vegetables and fruit may help reduce the risk of some types of cancer”), and structure function claims The objectives of this study were to determine: i) the proportion of foods carrying claims in FLIP 2013, ii) the types and prevalence of nutrition claims (nutrient content claims, health claims, general health claims) and other claims displayed on labels in 2013, iii) and trends in use of nutrition claims between 2010 and 2013
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