cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/42020156
Can Canada create a food labeling system similar to this?
It’s confusing trying to buy Canadian with all the variations of made in, assembled in, grown in, packaged in, etc. Can we copy the Australian food labeling system, perhaps replacing the kangeroo with a maple leaf? I find this much clearer.
Haha no, but we have NutriScore where sweetened Nestle products get an A, frozen pizza gets a B and cheese gets an F.
…that’s not how those work.
If a frozen pizza gets a B that means compared to OTHER frozen pizzas it has a higher nutritional value.
It compares similar products for nutritional value, not the overall “healthiness” of all products compared with each other.
So you can compare a salami pizza with a veggie pizza or a cereal bar with cereals, but not a strawberry yogurt with a chocolate bar, because those are not within the same product group.
It’s true but at the same time the fact that so many people get that system wrong makes me think maybe it’s not that well thought through. These things need to be intuitive.
Oh yeah it’s confusing labeling, I agree.
In Finland, we have “heart label” (Sydänmerkki). The label has text “better choice”, and it’s intended to inform customers about products that are good for heart health. You can find this label pretty much on any product category, including things like cookies, ice cream and pizza. You are expected to know, that the label actually means “better choice for heart health within this product category”. So yea, I agree with you on that intuitive part.
Australia also have a similar health star rating.
https://nutritionaustralia.org/fact-sheets/food-label-reading-guide/#Health-Star-Ratings
Coco pops has a health star rating of 2 out 0f 5
Rolled oats are 5 stars
I guess at least this way there’s a greater incentive for companies to make their product applicable for the label
That’s legit the first time I hear it, and I searched nutriscore on the internet when I first saw these odd labels, and read some article about it, so likely more research than most people.
Do you have a source for this, because my understanding of the Wikipedia page is that you’re not correct, but I’m also aware of my ignorance in this topic.
Under “Goals” on the Wikipedia page.
But, I agree that it’s confusing. The fact that you could miss the point of them even after skimming the Wikipedia shows how flawed their design is by not explaining it in simple terms on the label. And the Wikipedia page is also bad, why is it not mentioned in the first sentence in the introduction part?
Sounds like a simple labeling update would fix the confusion. All labels should say “Rated B compared to other options among FOOD GROUPING.”
Or something. I’m sure it would be doable.
Yes, but nobody knows that, they don’t teach it in school, and people just ignore it anyway because it seems unreliable.
I’ve seen the explanation on tv once or twice but I agree, it’s confusing.
That sounds like the kind of system the food industry would lobby for to intentionally confuse their customers.