Health Check - Criteria

Criteria

Products that qualify for a Health Check symbol must meet category-specific nutrient criteria: The amount of nutrients required is determined from the Canada Food Guide.

  • total fat
  • saturated fat
  • trans fat
  • fibre
  • sodium
  • sugar
  • protein
  • vitamins and minerals

More specifically the criteria is based on nutrients Canadians should incorporate into their diet such as fibre and vitamins, and also those they should eat less of such as sodium, fat and sugar. The grocery items are divided into categories related to the Canadian Food Guide food groups which include: Vegetable and Fruit, Grain Products, Milk and Alternatives, Meat and Alternatives plus Oil and Fat. There is also a category for food that incorporate more than one of these called Combination Foods.

The Health Check website has a list of criteria for the products, some examples include:

Vegetable and Fruit

Fruit juice must be:

  • made from 100% fruit juice with no added sugar
  • an excellent source of vitamin C (50%) or vitamin A (25%) or folate (25%) or source of fibre (2 grams)

Frozen and Canned Vegetables, both seasoned and sauced, must have

  • no more than 240 milligrams of sodium
  • no more than three grams of fat

Grain Products

Breakfast cereal must have:

  • no more than three grams of fat
  • at least two grams of fibre
  • no more than 240 milligrams of sodium
  • no more than six grams of sugar (excluding sugars from pieces of fruit) except if four grams or more of fibre
  • no more than five percent of total fat from trans fat

Milk and Alternatives

Yogurt must have:

  • no more than two percent milk fat
  • at least fifteen percent of the daily recommended calcium
  • no more than 140 milligrams of sodium
  • no added sugar

Meat and Alternatives

Plain meat or poultry must have:

  • no more than ten percent fat
  • no added salt or sodium
  • no more than five percent of fat from trans fat

An independent company randomly evaluates the items, on an annual basis, to ensure that products indeed meet the criteria.

Read more about this topic:  Health Check

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