November 13, 2012 | 0 Comments

Kudos to Dietitians of Canada for telling Health Canada “guidance is not enough”

Kudos to Dietitians of Canada (DC), I am proud to say, my professional association for dietitians, representing almost 6000 members at the local, provincial and national levels.

DC has made it clear that it agrees with NDP MP Libby Davies that the Government of Canada should be the leader in monitoring the sodium levels in our food supply.

DC points out that Health Canada has published guidance for the food industry on voluntarily reducing sodium in processed foods but guidance is not enough. The association has called for “ sodium reduction targets set with defined timelines and a clear and transparent system for monitoring and reporting sodium levels in foods.”
They’re asking for the Sodium Working Group’s recommendations to be implemented. They have also expressed disappointment that the Minister of Health disbanded the group early in 2011 before it finished its work. The dietitians had also called for restrictions on advertising food and beverages to children, another recommendation put forward by Davies earlier this week.
xxx

So what has Health Canada been doing? They are pushing for more education and conducting focus groups on the subject – simply wasting more and more tax dollars.

It’s enough already.

Millions of dollars have been wasted asking for both expert and public opinions while spending exorbitant amounts on health care costs due to the excessive amounts of sodium in our food supply.

Contact your Member of Parliament to support NDP MP Libby Davies Private Member’s Bill.