Digesting Canada's new “High in Sat Fat / Sugar / Salt” Food Labels
Updated: Aug 17
GROCERY SHOPPING is one step to eating well
Buying groceries is just one of the many aspects of enjoyable and healthy eating. As a kid, I often joined my father for a trip to the local Sobey’s to pick up groceries. This was the only way I was going to ensure the purchase of my favourite frozen foods. My father cringed at the idea of pre-made frozen dinners, but put them in the cart nonetheless. Many years later, I’ve adopted his preference for home cooked meals, but I’m also comfortable with letting my kids explore and decide on “food” they want to try.
Other aspects of healthy eating in a family include knowing each family member’s preferences, planning what to eat ahead of time, choosing unprocessed foods over ultra-processed foods as much as possible, spending time preparing and cooking food, and having good food readily available for the next quick meal. Helping your family eat well is a significant form of the household’s cognitive labour, and more and more dads are taking on this role.
KNOW the nutritional value of your food
I often say that to eat healthy, one actually has to spend time with food and in the kitchen. It is important to know what you are eating and have a general sense of the food’s nutritional value. Eating healthy feels good and ensures the right level of energy throughout the day, and reduces the chance of developing various health conditions over time.
The latest food focus is on protein; including things such as protein coffee and water! Other important food contents include calories, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
HEALTH CANADA'S Front-of-package Nutrition Symbol
Recently I have noticed Health Canada’s new and mandatory Front-of-package (FOP) symbol (Figure 1) on several grocery store items. Since January 2026, a FOP nutrition symbol is now required on most prepackaged foods that are high in one or more of the following: saturated fat, sugars or sodium (salt).*
The purpose of this symbol is to alert grocery shoppers immediately that eating only 50 grams of this food will meet or exceed 15% of our daily maximum amount of saturated fat, sugar and/or sodium.** The daily amount for adults and children over the age of 4 are: 20 grams of Saturated Fat, 100 grams of Sugar and 2300 milligrams of Sodium. Consuming more than 100% of the daily amount is associated with poor health and an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and some cancers. (Check out my post on high blood pressure). Eating less than this amount is even better for our health.
50 GRAMS of food is 3-5 % of your daily food intake
If adults on average eat 1kg to 1.5kg of food a day, then 50 grams is only 3-5% of our daily food intake. (Drinks not included).
For simplicity sake, let’s use 1kg as an example of the total amount of food eaten in one day. In this case, eating 1 serving of 50 grams would be 5% of our daily intake. If that 50 grams of food is a prepackaged item with a FOP symbol indicating High in Sat Fat, that means that 50g of this food is 5% of our daily food intake but has at least 15% of our daily limit of saturated fat. If we ate a majority of foods with this label, then we could result in consuming 3x or more the amount of the daily limit of saturated fat (or sugar or sodium). We would be closer to eating 60 grams of saturated fat instead of 20g.
So when we see this label we should stop and realize that this item is high in either saturated fat, sugar or sodium by at least 3x the ideal amount. If we are to consume 1kg of food in total and no more than 100 grams of sugar, then the average percentage of sugar in the foods we eat should be 10%. For saturated fat it is 2%.
AVOID "HIGH IN SUGAR" Drinks
1 kg of food per day does not include drinks. This is one area we want to pay close attention to as it doesn’t take much to consume a lot of sugar in beverages such as juice and soda pop. One can of soda (355mL) contains 35-45 grams of sugar, up to 45% of the total daily value! Eliminating sugary beverages can be very impactful in reducing the amount of sugar consumed daily.
ULTRA-PROCESSED Foods
This Health Canada label should also alert us to the fact that foods with this FOP nutrition symbol are very likely to be an ultra-processed food. Not all ultra-processed foods will have this label and this label is not just found on ultra-processed foods, but the likelihood is very high. Ultra-processed foods (UPF) are also associated with poorer health outcomes. Unfortunately the amount of UPF being consumed by Canadians has gone up over the years, and our children ages 9-13 consume the most amount of ultra-processed food (57% of their intake is UPF).
Two ways to categorize foods include shelf life and degree of processing:
Perishable Vs Shelf Stable
Minimally Processed Vs Ultra-Processed
Both perishable and shelf stable food can be minimally processed and nutritious. Perishable food can also be ultra-processed. The main focus should be on consuming more minimally processed food than ultra-processed food. See Figure 2 for examples.
It is important to know that foods labelled Organic or Gluten Free may also be ultra-processed and may also have one of these FOP nutritional symbols. In some cases, saturated fat, sugar and sodium are substituted to enhance flavour and texture for gluten free products.
SSS = 555 RULE
For healthy eating, it is important to be on the lookout for Saturated Fat, Sugar and Sodium (SSS). Remember, that roughly 5% of our daily intake is 50 grams of food and ideally should be around 5% of the daily limit of sat fat, sugar and salt. That’s the 555 Rule. Use this benchmark to compare and choose the best foods for you and your family. The FOP nutritional symbol immediately alerts us that for these foods, it is not 555 but rather 5-5-15. We should therefore, stop and think about alternative food options that are closer to 555. The more consumers purchase “555 foods” the more likely food manufacturers will reduce the content of saturated fat, sugar and sodium in order for their products to be healthier and more competitive. I recently discovered that less than a cup of my favourite ice cream contains 13g of saturated fat (68% of DV) and 39g (39% of DV) of sugar! I've found a new and healthier favourite since.
While these FOP symbols do not address the overall nutritional value or the number of calories in select foods, it does warn us that only a small amount of this food contains a disproportionate amount of saturated fat, sugar or sodium. This information is useful in comparing products and deciding what to buy for healthy eating for the whole family.
5 TIPS for healthy grocery shopping:
Plan meals to cook and make a grocery list ahead of time
Look for minimally processed food options as much as possible (both perishable and shelf stable)
If you spot the FOP nutrition symbol on a food you selected, consider comparing it to the alternatives to select the best option. Even two foods with this symbol might have different amounts of saturated fat, sugar or sodium.
Avoid drinks with the FOP nutrition symbol
Focus on adding healthy and nutrition food to your diet, rather than trying to just avoid/restrict other foods.
*Some exemptions do apply including foods such as raw ground meat, plain dairy products and fat, sugar and salt products sold as such, for example butter and maple syrup.
**Most foods have a reference amount of 50 grams. For foods with a reference amount of 30 grams (e.g. condiments, cookies) the daily value threshold is 10%. Foods considered a prepackaged main dish (e.g. frozen pizza) have a reference amount of 200 grams and a threshold of 30%.
