Unregulated serving sizes on the Canadian nutrition facts table – an invitation for manufacturer manipulations

Chan, Jessica Yin Man; Scourboutakos, Mary J.; L’Abbé, Mary R.

doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4362-0

BMC Public Health

Table 3 Correlation between serving size and calorie density in each Schedule M^a food category

From: Unregulated serving sizes on the Canadian nutrition facts table – an invitation for manufacturer manipulations

Food group	Number	Pearson Correlation - r	p
Bakery Products
1. Bread	183	−0.3493	0
2. Bagels, tea biscuits, scones etc.	227	0.006	0.0001
7. Coffee cakes, doughnuts, danishes etc.	89	−0.3107	0.003
8. Cookies, graham wafers	294	−0.0972	0.0961
9. Crackers, hard bread sticks etc.	238	−0.2227	0.0005
14. Croutons	53	−0.6452	0
15. French toast, pancakes, and waffles	93	−0.2151	0.0384
17. Grain-based bars with filling and coating	85	0.1998	0.0667
18. Rice cakes and corn cakes	62	0.5732	0
19. Pies, tarts, cobblers, turnovers	94	−0.3318	0.0011
Cereals and Other Grain Products
28. Hot breakfast cereals	57	0.2337	0.0802
30. Breakfast cereals without fruit or nuts	85	−0.3751	0.0004
31. Breakfast cereals with fruit and nuts	145	0.0097	0.9079
34. Grains, such as rice or barley	85	0.2446	0.0241
35. Pastas without sauce	383	−0.008	0.8757
Dairy Products and Substitutes
39. Cheese	380	0.2066	0.00005
43. Quark, fresh cheese and fresh dairy desserts	63	−0.4323	0.0004
49. Plant-based beverages	138	−0.4618	0
52. Yogurt	95	−0.0726	0.4845
Desserts
53. Ice cream, ice milk, frozen yogurt, sherbet	282	0.2197	0.0002
54. Dairy desserts, frozen	97	0.5856	0
Fats and Oils
64. Butter, margarine, shortening, lard	91	−0.202	0.0548
65. Vegetable oil	105	0.2112	0.0306
67. Dressings for salad	227	0.0552	0.408
Marine and Fresh Water Animals
72. Marine and fresh water animals	132	−0.353	0.00003
73. Marine and fresh water animals, canned	116	0.2288	0.0135
Fruits and Fruit Juices
75. Fruit, fresh, canned or frozen	167	−0.2265	0.0032
77. Dried fruit	69	−0.2073	0.0874
83. Juices, nectars and fruit drinks	553	−0.9073	0
Legumes
86. Beans, peas and lentils	78	−0.227	0.0457
Meat, Poultry, Their Products and Substitutes
90. Luncheon meats	107	0.1014	0.2989
91. Sausages	102	−0.0376	0.0014
93. Patties, cutlettes, chopettes etc.	103	0.1431	0.1493
96. Meat and poultry with sauce	106	−0.3741	0.00008
Miscellaneous category
99. Bread crumbs and batter mixes	151	−0.2137	0.0084
Combination Dishes
107. Measurable	366	−0.5304	0
108. Not measurable	304	−0.6052	0
109. Hor d’oeuvres	104	−0.2401	0.0141
Nuts and Seeds
110. Nuts and seeds	67	−0.2491	0.0421
Sauces, Dips, Gravies and Condiments
120. Sauces for dipping	117	−0.2977	0.0011
121. Dips	92	−0.0984	0.3506
122. Major main entree sauce	145	−0.4883	0
123. Minor main entree sauce	102	0.2153	0.0298
124. Major condiments	100	0.2593	0.0092
125. Minor condiments	48	0.1166	0.43
Snacks
126. Chips, pretzels, popcorn, extruded snacks	375	0.5575	0
127. Nuts or seeds for use as snacks	88	−0.1716	0.1099
Sugars and Sweets
137. Jams, jellies, marmalades etc.	145	0.0318	0.7042
141. syrups	50	−0.0321	0.8323
Vegetables
150. Pickles	54	−0.1669	0.2278

50 of the 153 categories in schedule M had greater than 50 foods and thus were included in the analysis
^aSchedule M is a component of the Food and Drug Regulations (B.01.001) which includes reference amounts and recommended serving sizes for the Nutrition Facts table on packaged food products. These references are voluntary and are only mandatory when manufacturers are aiming to meet the compositional criteria for nutrient content claims and health claims

Back to article page

ISSN: 1471-2458

Contact us

Submission enquiries: bmcpublichealth@biomedcentral.com
General enquiries: ORSupport@springernature.com