Wednesday, February 15, 2017

How sweet it is!

Most Canadians don’t know how much sugar they’re eating, according to a new study from health researchers at the University of Waterloo.

They analyzed 40,000 packaged foods and found that two-thirds have added sugar.

Among some of the surprises were sugar in baby foods, vitamin water, flavoured dairy products and granola bars.

It’s no surprise that sugar is added to soft drinks, candy and baked goods, but how much is open to speculation in Canada.

In the United States, new labeling regulations force disclosure of sugar content.

Canada did not follow suit, but has changed its regulations to require manufacturers to group sweeteners so that, for example, high-fructose corn syrup and sugar will show up together.

David Hammond, a professor in the school of public health and health systems at the University of Waterloo, said many nutritionists and health advocates were surprised that Canada did not copy the U.S. regulations.