Labels on Canadian food products “are confusing” and are “ineffective in improving nutrition,” say researchers at McGill University. According to government rules, labels must list the percent daily value of several nutrients.
“Even educated and motivated shoppers have difficulty picking out the most nutritious product with these labels,” says Peter Helfer lead author of the study published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Another label type called NuVal used in some U.S. food markets “enables quick and nutritious choices.” Under this system, nutrition experts at several universities rate the overall nutritional value of each product with a number between one and 100.
The Canadian government is currently reviewing nutrition labels. Researchers hope improved labels will enable consumers to make healthier food choices that could help stem the epidemic of obesity going on in Canada and the rest of the world.
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