April 2009 - Hot Topic

Bill 156: The Healthy Decisions for Healthy Eating Act, 2009

by Tracy Woloshyn, Chair, OPHA Food Security Workgroup

This Bill, which passed second reading on April 9, would obligate large-scale food providers, with revenues of over $5 million annually, to publicly disclose caloric information. The Bill also limits the amount of trans fat in food from the same establishments.

The intent of the Bill is to help people who are trying to make choices that will improve their long-term health.  According to Statistics Canada, eating away from home is becoming increasingly prevalent. Since 2001, upwards of 30 cents of every dollar spent on food went to restaurant meals. The trend has been consistent for more than twenty years.

Significant segments of the population are motivated to act on food and nutrition issues. The government can support people by mandating access to nutrition information as a matter of public health promotion.  Of course, monitoring will need to follow the legislation to ensure compliance.

In addition to benefitting people who are paying attention to the number of calories in the restaurant foods they eat, there is research to indicate that this type of legislation encourages restaurants and suppliers to re-formulate their products as a result of mandatory labeling.  This is an even better outcome for the population in general, because this potentially improves the composition of, and choice within, the food supply available to people who eat out. This helps everyone who eats at those restaurants.

In effect, this Bill creates a climate for healthy business competition among service providers by engaging them in providing healthier options for consumers and increasing consumer confidence in the industry. For more information on how you can help move this issue forward, see our article on Healthy Decisions for Healthy Eating in this month’s Our Voice in Action column.