Warning labels on minced meat could soon be mandatory in Canada

Quebec - Ground meat, such as beef and pork, could soon require warning labels in Canada due to its high sodium and saturated fat content.

It’s part of a new proposal from Health Canada, the government department responsible for national health policy. The organization wants to implement mandatory front-of-package labelling requirements for foods high in sodium, saturated fat, and sugar.

Ground beef is a source of protein, iron, and vitamin B12. But it is also high in saturated fat, which can raise cholesterol and consequently, the risk of heart disease and stroke.

A growing bank of research has found close ties between meat consumption and a slew of other health problems, including liver disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Under the Canadian proposal, pre-packaged foods that contain 15 percent of the recommended daily intake of sodium, saturated fat, and/or sugar would need to be clearly labelled as such.  

For pre-packaged meals, the threshold would sit at 30 percent of the daily recommended intake.

Health Canada hopes the labels will help consumers make more informed and healthy dietary choices.

This is especially important given diet’s role in disease prevention; the food we eat is closely linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, which are all leading causes of death in Canada.

Many food products would be exempt from the policy despite being high in saturated fat, including whole cuts of meat and eggs, as well as whole and two-percent dairy milk. Fruits, vegetables, and vegetable oils like canola and olive would also be given elbow room.

Products like ground beef and pork, on the other hand, would require the labels, chiefly for their salt and saturated fat levels.

Sylvain Charlebois, professor in food distribution and food policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, says half the beef consumed in Canada is ground. Ninety-one percent of Canadians actually eat meat on a regular basis.