Family
© Steve Russel/Toronto StarLiza Lukashevsky, with her children Charlie and Alice, is pleased the federal government is strengthening ingredient-labelling rules.
As the mother of a child with food sensitivities and the owner of a store specializing in health and bulk foods, Liza Lukashevsky is relieved the federal government is strengthening ingredient-labelling rules.

It will make for a healthier population, says Lukashevsky, who runs the Nuthouse on Bloor St. W.

"Currently, a lot of food contains ingredients that are dangerous and a lot of people are unaware of that," she says.

The federal government announced Monday that food-labelling regulations are being revised to require manufacturers of prepacked products to clearly identify allergens and gluten sources. The aim is to help Canadians with food allergies, sensitivities and celiac disease to make more informed choices.

The changes are welcomed by groups such as Anaphylaxis Canada, which has been lobbying for stricter labelling requirements for two decades. Still, the organization is disappointed that the changes didn't go further and include the beer industry.

Lukashevsky is particularly mindful of food ingredients because the older of her two children, Charlie, 8, is sensitive to such ingredients as soy and sulphites. As a baby, he got stomach aches, had difficulty sleeping and would break out into rashes.

Soy and sulphites are among the most common food products to cause severe allergic reactions. Soy can be found in many food products including seasonings, spices and sauces. Sulphites are additives used to prolong the shelf life of products and to preserve colour. They are found in many foods including baked goods, deli meats and chocolate bars. Other names for sulphites include sodium bisulphate, sulphur dioxide and sulphiting agents.

Under the new rules, which come into effect in August 2012, soy and sulphites are among the ingredients that will have to be named on labels.

Speaking about her son, Lukashevsky said, "It was a little bit difficult when he was at daycare because the people making food for him didn't always know how to find out if ingredients had soy in them.

"Now it will be very clear for them."

Approximately five to six per cent of young children and three to four per cent of adults suffer from food allergies. Nearly one per cent of the population is affected by celiac disease, which leads to long-term complications from the consumption of foods containing gluten. Under the new rules, foods containing gluten will have to say so on packaging labels.

Laurie Harada, executive director of Anaphylaxis Canada, said the changes have been a long time in coming and pointed out that her organization and others have been lobbying for them for two decades. But she is disappointed beer products have been exempted.

André Fortin, of the Brewers Association of Canada, said it's obvious to most beer drinkers and those with celiac disease that the beverage contains barley, a source of gluten. Also, he said, labelling changes would be hugely expensive to some brewers that do not use paper labels on bottles and instead use bottles with words painted on them.

Some of the new requirements

Food allergens, gluten sources and sulphites will need to be labelled.

The food allergen or gluten source will be written in commonly used words such as "milk" or "wheat."

Products with spelt and kamut will be labelled with the allergen "wheat."

The source of any allergen or gluten present in the wax coating or their compounds would be required to be shown on the label of prepackaged fruits and vegetables.