New Canada Food Guide not ‘fair or practical’ about processed foods
‘You don’t always have time to make tomato sauce,’ says industry group
TORONTO The new Canada Food Guide’s criticism of processed foods has raise the ire of an industry group that is suggesting the guidelines are out of touch with the time and budget constraints consumers face when preparing a modern meal.
The updated food guide, released on Tuesday after years of anticipation, directs consumers to “limit highly processed foods” — warning about sodium and sugar content in things like deli meats, frozen dinners, muffins and ice cream. But that warning “unfairly vilifies” the entire processed food category, said Food and Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), a trade association representing packaged food and beverage manufacturers across the country.
“During the week, people, they’re pushed. The kids are in activities. People are working. It’s hard,” Michael Graydon, chief executive at FCPC, said Tuesday. “You don’t always have time to make tomato sauce, so you buy a jar of tomato sauce — that’s a processed product.
“The food guide I don’t think fully recognizes that consumer demand for convenience,” he said. “I don’t see it as being fair or practical.”
In its first update to the guide since 2007, Health Canada abandoned the traditional four food groups and serving recommendations in favour of a picture of a perfect plate: half fruits and vegetables, one quarter for protein, the other quarter for whole grains. The guide champions plant-based proteins while neglecting dairy products, represented in the plate diagram only by a small saucer of yoghurt. It also calls for more meals to be eaten at home, slowly, with company, not in front of TV.
But by eschewing processed foods, Graydon at FCPC said, the guide is jeopardizing its own credibility with the already health-conscious consumer. “I think the consumer is actually ahead of Health Canada,” he said, adding that food processors have responded to consumer demands for healthier products by offering things like reduced sodium potato chips.
“I don’t think we can all live on fresh food,” he said, pointing to the increase in cost for fruit and vegetables during the winter. “The logic is: ‘I can’t afford and I don’t have time to only eat fresh product. I need packaged products.”
Health Canada did not respond to a request for comment late Tuesday afternoon. In a technical briefing ahead of the guide’s release, however, Health Canada’s director general of nutrition policy and promotion defended the warning about processed foods.
“Processed or prepared foods and beverages that contribute to excess sodium, free sugars or saturated fat undermine healthy eating as they are linked to chronic disease risk when consumed in excess,” said Dr. Hasan Hutchinson. “This is why these foods should not be consumed regularly.”
Asked about Health Canada’s warning against deli meats, Mary Ann Binnie, the Canadian Meat Council’s nutrition consultant, noted that the advice was to limit consumption, not avoid it entirely. “People are splitting hairs over the difference between the animal and plant-based proteins. Quite frankly, we should be focusing on the cakes, the candies, the sugary drinks,” she said. “Deli meat, if it’s served on a beautiful multi-grain bread with lettuce and tomato slices, that’s the way to enjoy deli meat, rather than adding it on top of deep fried, high-fat, high sodium pizza.”