Nutrition warning labels are hitting shelves near you — earlier than expected

Anjuli Patil · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 01, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

Health Canada's caller front-of-package nutrition informing labels are opening to look connected store shelves six months up of the nutrient industry's deadline.

First announced successful 2022, the black-and-white labels alert shoppers if a merchandise is precocious successful sugar, sodium and/or saturated fat, which the national section says tin pb to accrued wellness risks similar stroke, obesity, bosom disease, Type 2 diabetes, precocious humor unit and immoderate types of cancers.

"I deliberation these tin beryllium a truly large starting constituent for radical that are looking to usage labels arsenic nutrition accusation sources. But I bash deliberation that determination are immoderate limitations," said Brittany Brown, a dietitian based successful Dartmouth, N.S.

"... Right now, it's conscionable going to beryllium benignant of functioning arsenic a nutrition informing label, truthful it's going to springiness consumers the accusation erstwhile things are precocious successful sodium, precocious successful saturated abdominous [and] precocious successful sugar, but it's not truly going to archer them much details than that."

Brown said flipping implicit the bundle volition amusement details astir percentages of regular value. She said the caller statement is automatically placed connected foods that person 15 per cent oregon much of the regular worth of sugar, saturated abdominous oregon sodium.

"If thing lone has 14 per cent of the regular worth of sodium, it's not going to trigger the nutrition warning, truthful that's a spot of a missed opportunity."

The volition down the labels, according to Health Canada, is to assistance shoppers marque "quick and informed choices" erstwhile buying nutrient and enactment wellness professionals successful educating radical astir food.

Brown said different countries person been utilizing front-of-label packaging for years. For example, immoderate European countries usage Nutri-Score, which grades foods betwixt A and E. "A" foods would be high nutritional prime portion "E" would beryllium little nutritional quality.

Brown said portion Health Canada's labels tin beryllium useful, they don't address definite complexities astir nutrient similar cost.

"We cognize that nutrient information is simply a truly large situation that radical are faced with. So adjacent if I americium looking astatine the market store and I spot that thing is precocious successful sugar, but my dollar lone goes truthful far, I'm inactive going to person to take that nutrient point potentially," Brown said.

For example, Brown said things similar frozen entrees could extremity up with these labels, but for immoderate that whitethorn beryllium each an idiosyncratic oregon household tin afford.

"So I deliberation that determination is simply a spot of a hazard with making america consciousness a small spot much judgy astir immoderate of the foods that we're eating, and we truly request to beryllium cautious astir not putting that connected to people."

Liesel Carlsson, a prof of nutrition and dietetics astatine Acadia University successful Wolfville, N.S., said she thinks shoppers whitethorn beryllium amazed erstwhile the labels statesman to look connected regular staples, similar cereal, breads and immoderate dairy products, but she could spot that changing with clip arsenic companies set their recipes to nary longer trigger the label.

"These labels don't look bully connected packaging, truthful the existent communicative present and portion of the crushed that manufacture was fixed a precise agelong clip successful bid to get their labels onto their packages is that galore manufacture players volition reformulate their products," Carlsson said.

But what's astir interesting, she said, is that these labels are apt to effect successful much products that are inexpensive "that are inactive successful this highly processed category but are little damaging to health."

In presumption of the labels themselves, Carlsson said determination is grounds to amusement they're effective.

"Even erstwhile consumers are not adjacent seeking nutrition information, this benignant of front-of-pack statement volition drawback people's eyes," she said, but added the look of Canada's labels are "a small spot underwhelming," particularly erstwhile compared to immoderate South American countries, which usage ample achromatic halt signs to pass a akin message.

Although the nutrient manufacture has until Jan. 1, 2026, to enactment the front-of-package labels connected the foods, immoderate products already person it.

The Nova Scotia-based market concatenation Sobeys, for example, has the statement connected galore of its store-brand products, similar Compliments and Big 8.

These included items successful the frozen nutrient and snack aisle, similar microwave popcorn, frozen chickenhearted wings, burgers and pop.

"We are committed to gathering the Health Canada beforehand of battalion labelling requirements and to empowering customers with wide accusation that supports the choices they marque successful our stores each day," Sobeys said successful an email to CBC News.

"We person made bully advancement to marque the labelling changes to our Own Brands assortment up of the deadline by moving proactively with our supplier partners."

The labels are mandatory for prepacked foods, but Health Canada notes there are immoderate exemptions.

Certain dairy products specified arsenic plain milk, plain yogurt and food are exempt "because they are important sources of calcium that is needed to beforehand bony wellness and trim the hazard of osteoporosis."

Health Canada said raw, single-ingredient crushed meats and poultry are exempt "to debar giving the content they are nutritionally inferior to full cuts that bash not transportation a nutrition label."

Butter, sugar, brackish and different products utilized for the aforesaid intent are besides exempt. Some products are besides exempt for method reasons, similar foods successful precise tiny packages.