Trans Fats in Foodservice – A Manufacturer’s Perspective April 20 th, 2010 Denise Paul, National Healthcare Manager, Maple Leaf Consumer Foods

 Background  Trans Fat Review  BC Trans Fat Regulation Overview  What this means from a Manufacturer’s perspective?  What else can a Manufacturer do?  What to expect for rest of Canada Outline

 In 2005 Health Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada formed a task force with a mandate to develop recommendations and strategies "to effectively eliminate or reduce processed trans fats in Canadian foods to the lowest level possible.“  Final Task Force report submitted to Minister of Health in June 2006 included recommendations for regulations (similar to BC regulations) by 2008 Background

 Between industry made significant progress in trans fat reduction but other priorities within Health Canada took precedence over trans fat regulations  BC wanted regulations in place prior to 2010 Olympics and moved ahead with their own provincial regulations for Food Service Background

 Naturally occurring trans fat is produced by bio- hydrogenation by ruminant animals  Found in lamb, sheep, beef, bison and dairy products  Industrial produced trans fat is produced by a chemical process (partial hydrogenation) used to change liquids into solid fats  Found in hydrogenated vegetable oils, shortenings and margarines and foods made with these oils Trans Fat Review

Health effects of naturally occurring trans fat  Naturally occurring trans fat do not have the same harmful effect as industrially produced trans fat Trans Fat Review

Health effects of industrially produced trans fat  Increases LDL (bad cholesterol) and decreases HDL (“good”) cholesterol thereby increasing the risk for cardiovascular disease  A high intake of industrially produced trans fat is responsible for an estimated 3,000 deaths from heart disease every year (Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada) Trans Fat Review

BC Trans Fat Regulation Overview

 New regulation began September 30, 2009 and applies to:  All BC food premises with a permit to operate a Food Service Establishment (FSE)  All food located on the premises of, used in preparation, served or offered for sale  The three regulatory requirements are: 1)Documentation for food is kept on site at all times - ingredient lists, Nutrition Facts table or product specification sheet; 2)All soft spreadable margarine and oil meets the restriction of 2% trans fat or less of total fat content 3)All other food meets the restriction of 5% trans fat or less of the total fat content BC Trans Fat Regulation Overview

Food exempt from the 2% and 5% trans fat restrictions includes:  Food whose only source of trans fat comes from dairy products and ruminant meats (that is, naturally occurring trans fats).  Pre-packaged food with a Nutrition Facts table that is sold or offered directly to the consumer without any alteration to the nutritional contents. BC Trans Fat Regulation Overview

What this means from a Manufacturer’s perspective? Ensure that all products meet the restriction of 5% trans fat or less of total fat content  For those products that already met the restriction:  Ensure all labeling requirements have nutritional details that highlight the restriction as per above and that full nutritional information is available for customers

What this means from a Manufacturer’s perspective?  For those products that did not meet the restriction:  Reformulate products accordingly to ensure they meet the new restrictions  Maple Leaf Foodservice - Less than 1% of products did not meet guidelines and those were reformulated  Canada Bread / Olivieri - Reformulated all scones, croissants and Alfredo sauces because the amount of trans fat generated from the vegetable shortening or cream exceeded the allowable amounts - Non-hydrogenated shortening and reduced amounts of cream - All products in the portfolio now meeting the guidelines

What else can a Manufacturer do?  Maple Leaf Foods & Canada Bread / Olivieri have an internal Regulatory Department that is now responsible for:  Monitoring and interpreting any new or changing regulatory announcements  Setting standards across our organization to ensure consistency  Ensuring that the organization is always current with new and/or changing regulations  Communicate regulations to Product Development and Marketing personnel to ensure that new products brought to market meet the regulatory restrictions  Provide input to Health Canada on our progress

What to expect for rest of Canada ?  Health Canada has been in dialogue with Ministries of Health across the provinces  Expect Health Canada will be announcing final regulations based on task force recommendations and consistent with BC regulations for all of Canada within the near future.  Other health initiatives have been on their agenda but increasing pressure from politicians and health organizations will soon lead to final regulations for rest of Canada