Nicole Boyd knows what she’s looking for when she flips over a packaged item at the grocery store. A practised hand at spotting what ingredients to avoid, the Fredericton-based dietitian can easily navigate the Nutrition Facts table found on most packaged food. But she acknowledges the average consumer can find the complexities of the Health Canada information on labels confusing and even overwhelming. She applauds the new front-of-package labelling as a quick, clear warning to consumers that the product they’re about to drop in the shopping cart may not be the wisest choice. The symbol of a magnifying glass has been mandatory since Jan. 1 for all prepared foods that exceed 15 per cent of the recommended daily value in saturated fat, sugars or sodium. “I think it can give you a really quick snapshot of whether this product has ingredients that you’re trying to avoid,” she said. “It can be a really simple way of knowing whether you want more of that product or less.”New labelling is mandatory for foods that exceed 15 per cent of the recommended daily value in saturated fat, sugars or sodium. (Allyson McCormack/CBC)Consuming too much saturated fat, sugar or sodium can increase risk of stroke, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and some types of cancers. But there are exemptions to the new rules, including whole unprocessed foods such as fresh produce, raw meat, poultry and fish. Certain dairy products like plain milk, yogurt and cheese are also excused, because they’re high sources of calcium, as are some traditional products such as honey, maple syrup and pure sugars. Boyd said nutrition is very complex, and marketing companies can take advantage of that by deliberately misleading consumers and misrepresenting supposed health benefits.WATCH | Food industry driven by profit, not our health, expert says:New food labelling warns shoppers to take a closer look2 hours ago|Health Canada’s mandatory front-of-package labelling went into effect on Jan. 1, and that means foods high in saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium now come with a warning. With skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease in Canada, the subtle warning is getting mixed reviews.“Some of those high sugar cereals are marketed as a whole grain because they do contain some whole grains, but they’re not necessarily a source of fibre.”Tactics like that make food intervention important.Lana Vanderlee, associate professor at the University of Laval’s school of nutrition, and Canada Research Chair in healthy food policy, said there are several other initiatives under review, but resistance from the food industry has made change difficult.“Their profits are the most important thing,” she said. “We know that it’s unlikely to come from voluntary actions from the food industry, and it is government who is going to have to act, likely to change those behaviours.”Lana Vanderlee, associate professor at the University of Laval’s Read More