Welcome back, everyone. Today we are going to talk about food labelling. A few days ago, I went to a large grocery store on the sole purpose of checking out food labels. We searched for foods with different nutrient content, such as low saturated fat or high calcium, and we also looked out for foods that are targeted for specific diets, such as vegetarianism or the keto diet.
We found plenty of clearly labelled gluten-free products and a few celiac labels, many organic foods, and vegetarian and vegan options. BUT something I learned was that certified keto labels aren't so prevalent. We had a bit of a time trying to find certified keto products. You had to do some serious digging into the ingredient list and the nutrition label, and have enough background knowledge to be able to rule out all the foods that don't qualify for the keto diet, which I am sure would be a real challenge to keto individuals.
After exploring food labels at the supermarket, I checked out the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) website on their requirements on general food labelling. Here are some key things I learned from their website:
1. Basically, their number one idea is that food labels should never, ever, be misleading to consumers. That's why they have so many strict rules and require specific claims on every product sold in our country. Because they prioritize telling the truth to us as consumers, we are provided with contact information to send reports and complaints about any food labels, should the labels on any given food product be incorrect, misleading or simply confusing. I think this is a great outlet for Canadians to take responsibility for their own food labelling if they have an issue with it, to take it to the government and know that they do handle all feedback based on a priority of safety to consumers.
2. Companies can't just say "low-fat" on any old product, even though "low" is generally known as a relative term that could really be applied to anything.
3. The 10 "priority" allergens recognize peanuts, egg, soy, sesame, milk, seafood, tree nuts, sulphites, wheat, and mustard. These are the 10 allergens that must be labelled using common terminology if included in any food product. For example, companies can't hide the wheat in their product under the vague term of "dextrin," which is probably not known by most Canadians as a product of wheat. Although they may say their product contains said dextrin, they must also say it does contain wheat in the product, so that people who do not eat wheat are fully aware that the product contains wheat. This policy is totally a life-changer for those who have dietary restrictions to those 10 "priority" allergens, but it really overlooks those who have allergies to foods outside of those 10. For example, the same dextrin as before, that can be made of wheat, corn, potato, rice, tapioca, or arrowroot only have to be labelled which food its from if its from wheat. How is that fair for those who don't eat potato, corn, tapioca, rice, or arrowroot? The only option left for them is to just avoid all dextrin because it might (but it just as well might not too) have their allergen in it. Just because these people are a minority doesn't mean there aren't any of them.
Next, I checked out the 4 FactSheets about common topics related to labelling. Here's what I learned:
FactSheet 1: Oral Allergy Syndrome: This sheet included a really handy table on the relationship between different pollen allergies and the food sensitivities that may be triggered during that specific pollen time. Click here to check it out!
This table really intrigued me as someone was was allergic to many of the above fruits and vegetables, and knowing people who are allergic still to those things. It makes me wonder if I was allergic to those fruits and veggies only during that related pollen season why I had those allergies as a child, or if those around me actually could have certain foods as long as the related pollen isn't in season. This is info I had never heard but really matter for those who are affected.
FactSheet 2: Labelling of Genetically Engineered Foods in Canada: To be honest, I was looking forward to reading this page the most, because GMOs in our country really interest me. But to summarize the page, it basically said that the same rules about regular food apply to genetically engineered food as well. Which is great, because it includes rules about nutrition labels and allergens which are critical to many Canadian consumers, BUT it has the same problem of allowing vague terminology that doesn't specify what the source of its ingredients are (such as but definitely not limited to dextrin). So, it has the same pros, but the cons are there too, just the same. And, the CFIA doesn't require labelling of the sources of genes added/hybridded (is hybridded even a word?), so manufacturers don't have to label what food the gene they added to another is from (If that sentence sounded like complete garbage, think of it this way: I put a milk gene into a watermelon and made watermelon popsicles, but in the ingredient list all I wrote was watermelon. No one knows I put a grape gene in, which could cause all sorts of problems for you if you are vegan or dairy-free or lactose-intolerant, and no one is keeping me accountable for whatever I feel like adding to your food. Hopefully that makes more sense for you.) I think this is totally nuts and the reason we have ingredients lists is to be transparent, but we need to enforce ingredient lists for our ingredients!
FactSheet 3: Food Fraud: Sounds pretty compelling, does it not? It said that about 10% of all commercially-sold food is affected by food fraud! That is one thing that basically affects every person in our country, then! The article said that olive oil, honey, dry spices, fish, and organic foods are the most commonly reported in food fraud. This reminded me of a time when I was little, and a friend was having allergic reactions seemingly at random. He had gotten tested, but the foods he was reacting to were not on his list of allergies. We were so confused, until someone saw an at-home test you can do on olive oil to test if it is pure olive oil or if it has a mix of other oils in it: refrigerate overnight, and if the oil hardens, it is pure, but if not, it has some other oil added. So, they refrigerated the oil and, lo and behold, it didn't harden. My friend removed that specific brand of olive oil, and his allergic reactions vanished.
FactSheet 4: Food Irradiation: Haven't heard of that one before! This page explained that irradiation is treating food with radiation to destroy bacteria, mould, insects, and parasites in food and increases shelf life by preventing sprouting. It listed the foods that are allowed irradiation in Canada, but went on to say it is extensively regulated for safety. I read the safety bit and wondered what other opinions there are out there on irradiation of food, and there are those who strongly disagree, such as the Organic Consumers Association, in their document "WHAT'S WRONG WITH FOOD IRRADIATION." They claim food irradiation is used to cover up issues that producers and manufacturers should deal with properly, and that it hasn't been proven to have no long-term health effects. So, the bottom line is that people aren't really sure, so it's important to consciously decide where you are going to stand on this issue.
To conclude, it's so important that we are paying attention to food labels and making good choices with regards to our consumption of food and what practices and companies we support. I think that after all the research I have done, I want to check out what foods I eat that have been irradiated so that I know just how much irradiation I am consuming regularly, and I want to continue investigating the GMO question regarding added genes in foods we eat. That has been something I am really interested in and I have done some research before on this topic. For me, reading food labels has always been a part of my life because of my diet, so reading ingredient lists and nutrition tables doesn't really come by surprise. But the regulations behind them are definitely interesting, and I'd encourage everyone who's read this far to do their own research because food is something that affects everyone. Happy researching!
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