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Breeders group repels Health Canada warning label

CALCULATE –

A group representing ranchers in Canada says their industry has been unfairly disqualified by proposed new regulations requiring the sale of packaged ground beef with health warning labels.

The Canadian Cattle Breeders Association is crying out for Health Canada’s proposal to make nutritional labels mandatory for prepackaged foods high in sodium, sugar and saturated fat.

According to Health Canada’s website, the goal is to provide consumers with quick and easy nutritional information, encourage them to make healthier choices, and incentivize food manufacturers to create healthier products.

Packaging labels will be applied to most foods that exceed 15% of an adult’s recommended daily intake of sodium, sugar or saturated fat. But some foods that are naturally high in sugar, such as unsweetened fruit, will be exempt from the labeling requirement, while milk and eggs – despite being high in saturated fat – will also be exempt.

Dennis Laycraft, executive vice president of the Cattle Breeders Association of Canada, said his industry could not understand why his product was being “denigrated”. He said Canadians consume about half of their calories from processed foods that are extremely nutrient-poor, but by contrast, ground beef – although undeniably a source of saturated fat – is also a good source of saturated fat. a nutrient-rich protein containing iron, zinc and vitamin B12.

“We believe there is a very, very compelling case for supporting an exemption,” Laycraft said in an interview.

“The whole purpose of this (health Canada proposal) largely comes from concerns about highly processed foods and foods with a lot of ingredients,” says Laycraft. “The idea of ​​using a single-ingredient food product and imposing these types of labels is not practiced anywhere else in the world and it would unfairly affect Canadian farmers and ranchers. .”

Pre-packaging nutrition labels exist in many countries around the globe. For example, Chile recently introduced a mandatory warning label for foods high in calories, sugar, sodium or saturated fat. The UK has a voluntary “traffic light” system that uses colors (red, amber, green) to categorize total fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt in food.

But Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytical Laboratory at Dalhousie University, said Health Canada’s approach to the issue was incoherent. Not only is dairy approved while ground beef and pork are not, Health Canada’s proposed regulations also exempt foods that are typically small in size, such as condiments, some biscuits and cereals. breakfast mugs and mini chocolate bars – though those are far more nutritionally questionable than ground beef.

“I really feel that ground meat is being discriminated against,” says Charlebois. “This policy seems to be driven by some bureaucratic ideology.”

Charlebois said he is particularly concerned that Health Canada’s push is coming at a time when consumers are facing rampant inflation and record-high prices at grocery stores.

“Fifty percent of beef in Canada is sold as ground beef, and ground beef in particular remains relatively affordable compared to other meats at the grocery store,” he said.

“90% of Canadians actually eat meat on a regular basis. That’s the vast majority of Canadians, so basically to label these products as unhealthy? I don’t think that sends the right signal. ”

According to CCA figures, 50% of beef produced in Canada is exported. In 2021, Canada exports more than 500,000 tons of beef worth $4.47 billion. Laycraft said he worries that if Canada is alone in putting health warning labels on its beef, Canadian ranchers and beef processors will be at a competitive disadvantage.

“Whenever you add a warning label to a product, over time that usually causes some erosion of demand,” says Laycraft. “We believe it will have a lasting impact on our industry reputation.”

In an email, Health Canada spokeswoman Marie-Pier Burelle said pre-package nutritional labeling requirements are widely recognized by health organizations as an effective tool to help combat rising rates. of chronic diet-related disease in Canada.

Not all ground meat is required to carry a warning label, she said, as “extra lean” ground beef and pork are actually below the maximum allowable limit for saturated fat.

“However, the nutrition symbol (before the package) on foods high in saturated fat (or high in sodium or sugar) will make healthy choices an easier choice for all Canadians,” she said. .


This Canadian Press report was first published on June 10, 2022.

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