EDMONTON – The federal government says proposed changes to food labels should make it more clear how much sugar is in packaged food.

Among the changes, Health Canada says both total sugars and added sugars would be required information on nutrition tables.

And suggested serving sizes would be more consistent among similar foods.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose made the announcement Monday at an Edmonton grocery store. She hopes the changes will make it easier for people to make healthy choices.

“We heard repeatedly from parents that they understand there are natural sugars in many things that their kids eat, food like fruit, of course. But they also want to know how much sugar is added to foods,” Ambrose told a news conference.

“Parents want to know how much sugar is being added in total to their children’s cereal, for example … Whether it’s molasses or brown sugar, all types of sugars will be grouped together. This makes the label much more transparent and allows shoppers to quickly see how much added sugars are in a food, compared to other ingredients.”

She said there will be a series of online, public consultations on the proposals.

The consultations are to run until Sept. 11.

By The Canadian Press July 14, 2014 11:50 AM