title: Trans and saturated fat on food labels in Canada: fact or fiction?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Food labels are the number one source for nutrition information for Canadians, but are food labels accurate? This study aims to provide an assessment of the accuracy of the reported trans fatty acid and saturated fatty acid values on food labels in selected foods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Over 380 samples of cookies, crackers, granola bars, breakfast bars and a variety of frozen foods were collected between 2005 and 2008 in the Greater Toronto Area, Ottawa and Vancouver, as part of Health Canada's Trans Fat Monitoring Program. The food categories chosen were based on earlier studies indicating that they were significant sources of trans fatty acids and the individual samples were chosen based on market share data. The trans fatty acid and saturated fatty acid contents of the samples were determined by gas chromatography and the laboratory results were compared to the values reported in the Nutrition Facts tables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Statistical analysis indicated no significant difference between laboratory and food label values for cookies, crackers, granola bars, breakfast bars and frozen foods for trans fat or saturated fat. The results demonstrate that Canadians can rely on food labels for making informed dietary choices with respect to trans fat and saturated fat content.
authors.affiliation: Food Laboratory Division, Ontario Region, Regions and Programs Branch, Health Canada, Scarborough, ON. peter.pantazopoulos@hc-sc.gc.ca
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pantazopoulos
authors.forename: Keri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kwong
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lillycrop
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chalouh
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samadhin
authors.forename: W M Nimal
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Ratnayake
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krenosky
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dumais
authors.forename: Mary R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: L'Abbe
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000032:analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis; D005515:Food Labeling; D006801:Humans; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D005227:Fatty Acids; D044242:Trans Fatty Acids