(♪♪)
>> Tom: We're hitting
the grocery store.
Baskets in hand.
Eyes focused.
On popular food products.
>> Erica: Investigating whether
companies are playing fast
and loose when it comes to
food labelling.
>> Tom: Start the day with
Nutella.
Everything from breakfast --
to dinner.
>> Erica: Healthy Request.
Sounds good.
>> Tom: I'm sold.
>> Erica: We're finding a
healthy diet of food claims.
>> Tom: 100% natural.
Garden Vegetable.
>> Erica: Bread with veggies?
>> Tom: Seems that's the hype
these days.
But are company claims
supported by the facts?
Or is it just food fiction?
How important are the
labelling claims to your
decision?
>> That's the first thing I
look at.
>> I'm a dad so I like to get.
you know, certain types of
nutrition to my boys.
They're still growing so they
eat a lot of protein.
>> Quite a bit.
I used to be not in the best
of health so it became a habit
over time.
>> Erica: To find out about
these healthy food claims,
we check out...
And meet up with a guy who
can help us read between the
lines.
Hey, Yoni.
>> Hi, Erica.
>> Erica: Good to see you.
>> Nice to see you.
>> Erica: Dr. Yoni Freedhoff
runs a health and nutrition
centre in Ottawa.
He's been called Canada's
nutritional watchdog.
>> How would you describe some
of the marketing tactics
companies use to get people to
buy their stuff?
>> They'll use anything and
everything that they can to try
to convince consumers that
what's in those packages is
health food.
>> Erica: How successful do
you think the marketing is?
>> I think it's extremely
successful.
Every aisle of the supermarket
is preying on us.
They're preying on our
psychologies.
They're preying on our beliefs
It's not fair.
>> Tom: Let's start with the
first meal of the day.
A popular breakfast item.
Nutella.
You know, the one that's
spreading the message that
"breakfast loves Nutella."
>> Knives, spoons, fingers and
cheeks.
Made with roasted hazelnuts.
Breakfast loves Nutella.
>> Tom: Precious Chong's
family loves it, too.
Her 9-year-old son Jack eats
this sweet treat three times a
week.
He's nuts for Nutella.
>> Delicious!
>> Tom: She first ate the
stuff as a child in Europe,
and says now it's a staple in
her home.
When you're serving Nutella
for Jack in the morning, how
much do you give him?
>> Mm, like, between a teaspoon
and a tablespoon full in his
oatmeal.
>> Tom: Do you know anything
about the ingredients of
Nutella?
>> Mm, I know it's like
hazelnuts and sugar?
>> Tom: Any idea how much
sugar is in there?
>> I don't know.
>> Erica: The manufacturer says
it can be part of a balanced
breakfast.
But is Nutella really a good
way to start the day?
What do you think of this
product?
>> Well, I think that it is
spreadable candy.
>> Erica: Candy!
Why?
>> Well, basically everything
you spread on that piece of
bread will be sugar.
>> Erica: So just how much
sugar does Nutella pack?
>> Erica: It says each serving
is one tablespoon, so I'm
going to just get a tablespoon
of this, and that has 11 grams
of sugar.
Okay.
Here we go.
>> Nutella really, it's a bit
of whey powder, so we'll put
some whey powder and it's a
bit of skim milk powder, so
we'll put that, too.
Some cocoa powder.
We've got cocoa powder.
And now everybody knows
there's hazelnuts in there,
but I don't know if everybody
knows there's only
two-and-a-half hazelnuts in
that tablespoon.
And then there is just shy --
one gram shy of three teaspoons
of sugar.
>> Erica: That is a ton of
sugar on my toast.
>> It is a lot of sugar on
your toast.
You know, a lot of people,
they say, well, we know it's
not healthy, but I'm not sure
people know just how much this
actually is.
>> Erica: All that sugar in
just one serving.
And Freedhoff thinks people
are eating more than that.
>> The label, it's swimming in
Nutella.
I wonder if two tablespoons
would make it look more like
that label.
>> Erica: And once you make it
two tablespoons of Nutella,
you're eating five-and-a-half
teaspoons of sugar, and that's
not all.
You've got another ingredient
down there.
What's that?
>> I do.
This is chocolate icing.
>> Erica: You think there's a
comparison?
>> Well, in fact there is less
sugar, tablespoon for
tablespoon, in this chocolate
icing than in that Nutella.
>> Tom: The company says it
doesn't promote the
nutritional value of Nutella.
If you eat it with some whole
grain toast, fruit and milk
it can be part of a complete
breakfast.
But that's little consolation
for our Toronto mom.
In a serving of Nutella, which
is a tablespoon, there are 11
grams of sugar.
>> Wow.
>> Tom: Do you know how much
that is?
>> No.
>> Tom: Almost 3 teaspoons.
(clears throat)
>> That's a lot of sugar.
So I'm basically giving a
chocolate bar to my son for
breakfast.
>> Tom: The fact that Nutella
markets itself as a breakfast
food, sells itself that way,
and knowing how much sugar's in
it, how do you feel about that?
>> Oh, I mean, it's a sham.
It shouldn't be a breakfast
food, it should be like a
dessert.
>> Tom: The latest in a long
list of unhappy Nutella fans.
A couple of years ago the
manufacturer made national
news in the U.S. when it was
sued for false advertising.
>> I thought it was at least
as nutritious as peanut
butter, maybe a little bit more,
and that's just the impression
I got from the commercial.
>> Tom: The company had to pay
its customers $3 million.
>> Erica: They may have tweaked
their advertising to tone down
the impression it's "healthy"
but this sugar cop says it's
still leaving a false
impression.
Why are companies allowed to
market their product as though
they're good for you?
>> Companies are allowed to
say whatever they can get away
with saying.
Now, they're like teenagers.
Their job is to push the
envelope.
To see what they can get away
with to sell as much product
as possible.
>> Erica: One of the slogans
for this product is "breakfast
loves Nutella".
>> Well, kids may love Nutella
and maybe breakfast does too but
I'm not so certain that health
does.
>> Erica: Let's put this one
away.
>> Indeed.
>> Erica: Time for us to turn
the tables on this label.
Change food fiction into food
fact.
So, let's make breakfast loves
Nutella...
Nutella loves sugar.
(ding)
>> Tom: With breakfast done,
time for lunch.
>> Erica: Healthy Request.
Sounds good.
>> Tom: I'm sold.
>> Erica: Throw it in?
>> Tom: You bet.
So we pick up some Campbell's
Healthy Request soup.
So when you see the word
"Healthy Request" on that,
what does that mean to you?
>> It would mean to me there
would be more vegetables in
there.
It would have some type of
whole grain in there.
>> Healthy Request?
Well, I'd have to look at the
ingredients before I figure
out if it is healthy.
>> Vegetables and nice looking
things on the side.
So I'd think, yeah, that's
something I would consider.
>> Erica: So just how healthy
is this soup?
We've got this Campbell's
soup.
It's called Healthy Request
and there are a lot of health
related things on this label.
>> There's no question that
label screams healthy.
I mean, even if you look at
the spoon, you don't see soup.
You just see a spoonful of
vegetables right above a logo
that's got a heart with the
world "healthy" on top of it.
So this is, I would imagine,
the marketing point is heart
healthy soup.
>> Erica: So let's look at the
amount of sodium in there.
It has 470 milligrams of
sodium per serving.
How's that number?
>> Well, first, 470 milligrams
of sodium in a serving of soup
might not be a small number
for someone who is worried and
concerned for real reasons
about sodium.
So people with heart disease,
that's actually quite a lot
for a serving of soup, but I
have a question.
How much is the serving of
soup in this case?
>> Erica: It says per serving
of 250 millilitres, but this has
almost 400 in it.
In this container.
>> And so that would be almost
750 milligrams of sodium in
that container.
>> Erica: If you ate the whole
thing.
>> Now, I wonder who wouldn't
eat the whole thing.
I mean, look at this container.
So it is a single serve
container.
I say that because you can't
reseal it.
>> Erica: Campbell's says it
uses the standard serving size
for soup set by the government.
That way, shoppers can make a
fair comparison.
But it looks as if Campbell's
could be breaking government
rules around labelling.
If a food product could
reasonably be eaten at a
single sitting, the company has
to give you the nutritional
info for the whole container.
How misleading is it then to
give the sodium for a serving
size that is not the entire
thing?
>> I think it's very
misleading.
You know, especially when you've
got a container that clearly is
something people would regularly
consume all at once.
>> Erica: And that's not the
only food fiction going on.
>> If you want to know how
much sodium, it's the same
amount of sodium as you would
get if you ate this entire
bowl of potato chips.
>> Erica: You wouldn't sit
down and eat an entire big
bowl of potato chips like
that.
>> No.
And if you're making your own
vegetable soup at home, the
likelihood of you putting that
much sodium in is quite low.
>> Erica: So this Healthy
Request soup?
>> Not so healthy.
(♪♪)
>> Tom: Back at the grocery
store, we give shoppers the
scoop about this soup.
Do you think that's a healthy
request?
>> It's terrible.
It's terrible.
>> Wow!
(Laughing)
>> I'd probably rather have
the potato chips.
>> Tom: (Laughing)
They have Healthy Request on
here.
It's got that much sodium in
it.
How do you feel about that
claim?
>> It doesn't seem healthy
at all.
>> Tom: So time for another
label makeover.
Let's turn Campbell's "Healthy
Request" soup into...
Campbell's "Salty Request" soup.
(ding)
>> Erica: When we come back,
more popular names, and
marketing games.
Is this 100% fruit bar
100% healthy?
>> Yeah, that's something that
I'd probably stay away from.
>> Tom: And later...
What "Krafty" claims are you
being served for dinner?
>> It's (bleep), is what it is.
>> What lousy label bugs you?
Snap a photo and share it with
us on Facebook and Twitter.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: Tom and I are on the
move through the grocery aisles,
looking for products that claim
to be good for you, trying to
separate food fact from food
fiction.
We've checked out breakfast.
Next up on the lunch menu...
>> Tom: Oh, here we go.
Garden Vegetable.
>> Erica: Bread with veggies?
>> Tom: With our soup.
>> Erica: Perfect combo.
>> Tom: Okay.
>> Erica: We've got Dempster's
Garden Vegetable bread.
>> Tom: What do you think when
you see that label?
>> Well, vegetables -- of
course vegetables are good for
you, right?
>> Well, I think that should
be better for you.
It should give you a bit more
of your daily vegetable intake.
>> Erica: So does it?
Back in the kitchen we ask our
nutritional watchdog Dr. Yoni
Freedhoff.
The packaging is covered in
carrots.
What does it suggest to you?
>> I think it suggests probably
to me, and to most people, that
loaf of bread has a lot of
carrots in it.
>> Erica: Carrots have plenty
of nutrients.
So what's Dempster's serving
up?
>> Erica: Carrots are known
for their Vitamin A.
Let's see how much Vitamin A
is in here per serving.
It says a serving is two slices,
and you'd get 6% of your daily
recommended allowance of
Vitamin A.
How much is that in terms of
actual carrot?
>> Actually not a lot.
So if you actually wanted to
get your Vitamin A from a
carrot source, an actual
vegetable, the amount of
carrot you'd need to eat is
just over about a gram worth
of carrot which I'm guessing
is roughly this much.
>> Erica: So pretty
misleading?
>> I think it's very misleading.
And I think, really, what it
speaks to is that when you put
vegetables in a food, the
processing strips away their
nutrition.
Eating a carrot is not the
same as eating carrots that
were placed into processed
food.
Even if many are put in there,
nutrition gets stripped out.
>> Erica: Dempster's says two
slices of their Garden
Vegetable bread has a half
serving of veggies, but after
processing, there aren't a lot
of vitamins.
So if you ate the entire loaf
of this bread, how much carrot
would you get?
>> Well, for a medium sized
carrot, it would be about a
seventh of a carrot.
>> Erica: If I ate the entire
loaf of bread, that much
Vitamin A?
>> That's correct.
>> Tom: Dempster's says the
label is factually accurate,
but our grocery shoppers are
still frustrated with that
tiny amount of vitamins.
You'd have to eat the entire
loaf to get the Vitamin A
equivalent of a carrot that
big.
>> That just seems like a lie.
(laughing)
>> The immediate reaction is
kind of like, ah, because you
got me.
>> To put a big thing on the
front like that says garden
vegetables, and those are
vegetables whick would have
Vitamin A in them.
I think that's pretty -- to me,
that's misleading.
>> Erica: So the actual amount
of Vitamin A in this bread 
gets an "F"?
>> Yes.
An "F" for food fiction.
>> Erica: Time for another
label makeover.
Let's turn Dempster's Garden
Vegetable bread into...
Dempster's "Where's The
Veggie?"
(ding)
>> Tom: Next on our shopping
list we're on the hunt for a
midafternoon snack.
Grocery aisles these days are
filled with food labels making
all kinds of fruit claims.
Look at those.
100% fruit.
Check this one out.
Made by Sun Rype.
It's called fruit source "100%
fruit bars."
How can you go wrong?
>> These are the things that
go lunch boxes, you know, and
stuff like that.
>> Well, if you see 100% fruit
then you would think, okay,
that's like an apple.
Or it's like an orange or a
pear or something.
>> Erica: Time to find out if
this fruit bar is as good for
you as you think.
If we look at the nutrition
facts, 29 grams of sugar in
every bar.
So how much sugar is that?
>> Well, the amount of sugar
in each one of these bars is
the same amount of sugar you
get if you ate four, five,
six-and-a-half Oreo cookies.
And I don't think many parents
would be sending their kids
with six-and-a-half Oreo cookies
worth of sugar to school every
day and thinking that was
healthy.
>> Erica: Well, you'd never do
that.
Parents think this is a
healthy alternative.
Not six-and-a-half Oreos worth
of sugar.
>> That's right.
>> Tom: Shoppers are shocked
there's that much sugar in one
bar.
A single one of these bars has
29 grams of sugar.
>> Okay.
>> Tom: That's the equivalent of
six-and-a-half Oreo cookies.
>> Yeah, that's something that
I'd probably stay away from.
>> Well, it would be
surprising to me that there's
that much.
>> Well, I'd rather have the
six-and-a-half Oreo cookies.
>> Erica: We called Sun Rype
and they said that this product
is derived from 100% fruit.
>> And I believe that fruit
started their processing
chain.
Right.
This is a processed food,
and the processing of fruit
changes its nutrition.
This again is candy.
Candy masquerading as fruit is
still candy.
>> Erica: Now, you might know
all that sugar in this fruit bar
is natural and adds up once it's
processed, but are you getting
the good stuff, too?
Strawberries are known for
their Vitamin C so let's see
per bar how much Vitamin C you
get and it says 2% of your
daily allowance.
How much is that?
>> It's not a lot.
So if you were to consume one
strawberry and you wanted to
get the same amount of Vitamin
C from those bars, you'd have
to eat six of them.
Truthfully, I think the only
thing we should be able to
market as actual fruit is
actual fruit.
>> Tom: The not so sweet facts
call out for another label
makeover.
Given all that sugar, let's
call Sun Rype...
Sun Hype.
(ding)
>> Erica: When we come back,
a popular pasta with a clever
spin!
>> That's preying on peoples'
hope.
>> Tom: And it's your turn to
give food makers a piece of
your mind.
>> Just be honest.
>> Erica: Hey, watchdogs.
Got a product or service you
think we should test?
E-mail us at
marketplace@cbc.ca.
(♪♪)
>> Erica: We're scanning the
grocery aisles for popular
products, on the lookout for
misleading marketing claims.
We've checked out breakfast,
lunch and a snack.
So what's for dinner?
>> Erica: Kraft Dinner, Smart.
>> Tom: Yep.
Kraft has come out with a line
of products to appeal to
health conscious parents out
there.
It's called KD Smart, with
high fibre, veggies, even one
with omega-3.
Sure sounds healthy.
So Kraft Dinner.
It's smart.
It's got flax, omega-3.
When you see that kind of
label, what do you think?
>> I see flax, which I know
is kind of good for me.
I see omega-3 which, as
someone with high blood
pressure, I think should be
having that.
>> Tom: Would you think this is
a healthier alternative to
regular KD?
>> I would think so, yeah.
Just from the flax, omega-3,
no artificial flavors,
colours, preservatives.
>> Erica: Here's an
unappetizing fact.
All three "Smart" brands cost
more than regular KD.
So what exactly are you getting
for that higher price?
We ask nutrition expert
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, starting
with the KD Smart with veggies.
On the ingredients it says
it's got freeze dried
cauliflower.
So how much are you getting in
each serving?
>> Not an awful lot.
I mean, this is Kraft Dinner.
And you if you crunch the
numbers you wanna see how much,
for instance, Vitamin C worth of
cauliflower you'll get in a
serving, it's two tablespoons.
>> Erica: That's only an eighth
of a cup!
Yep.
For every serving of this KD
Smart, about a third of the
box, you're getting the
Vitamin C found in two
tablespoons of cauliflower.
The other brand that they have
here is Kraft Dinner Smart High
Fibre, and the ingredients says
this one has oat hull fibre in
it.
How much are we getting in
each serving of this?
>> You're getting the equivalent
amount of fibre as consuming
roughly an apple, and on
paper that sounds great,
except there is health
benefits to consumption of
fruits and vegetables and
whole grains.
We don't have the same wealth
of evidence to suggest that if
we take just the fibre out of
those foods and add it to KD
that suddenly it will make KD
healthful.
I think that's a stretch.
>> Erica: Finally the KD Smart
with omega-3 with flax.
Is there enough in the box to
make a difference to your
health?
How much omega-3 are you
getting in this?
>> Well, so the evidence on
omega-3 suggests that the best
sources of omega-3 are the
fish sources.
And our bodies actually
convert flax into the same
types that you would get
from fish but we do it very
inefficiently.
>> Erica: So just how much KD
Smart would you need to eat in
order to get the omega-3 you'd
get in this piece of fish?
Try 177 servings!
>> This is not health food.
You know if people want to eat
Kraft Dinner, eat Kraft Dinner.
It's one of the rights of
childhood.
But to do it and think you're
being smart about it, well,
that's food fiction.
>> Tom: Back at the grocery
store, shoppers think what
we've found is hard to
stomach.
We did some calculations on
this.
You'd have to have 177 servings,
about 44 boxes of this, to get
the omega-3 that you get out
of one serving of salmon.
>> Wow.
That's clever marketing, eh?
>> Tom: Is that what it is?
>> Well, that's (bleep), is
what it is.
>> I think it's really kind of
selling the consumer really
short in terms of what they're
actually looking to gain from
this product.
>> Tom: You call it misleading.
Why do you think it's
misleading?
>> Well, because they're saying
it's a smart choice for eating
and it's not.
>> Erica: Kraft admits there's a
not a ton of nutritional value
with this trio, but says they're
a choice for parents with picky
kids.
We've decided their marketing
is just a little too "krafty."
So bring on a new label!
KD Smart, say hello to...
KD Not So Smart.
(ding)
>> Erica: Dr. Yoni Freedhoff
says the buck should stop with
government.
It needs to take more
responsibility to make sure
food labels aren't misleading.
>> We shouldn't be forced as
consumers to study nutrition
labels to see if the claims on
the front are accurate.
I tend to waggle my finger
most at the government for
allowing the claims that we
see on these packages to exist
in the first place.
>> Tom: We ask the government
agency responsible for making
sure these products aren't
misleading for an on-camera
interview about our findings.
No luck.
We want to talk to all the
companies on-camera about this
food fiction too, but they say
no.
The food makers may not be
talking, but we know you've
got something to say to them.
>> Just be honest.
You don't have to go through
this.
People will still buy your
product if it tastes good.
>> You'd probably sell your
product just as well if you
weren't engaging in these
activities, and you're probably
losing a certain segment
of the market, like me.
>> They're baiting us into
buying what they have.
Either we have to change our
laws about what they can say
or we as consumers have to be
more educated.
>> They really have to be more
deliberate with putting the
actual ingredients more in the
forefront instead of...
>> Tom: More transparent or
open?
>> More transparent instead of
the buzzwords that people seem
to be picking up on.
>> You're eating it, too!
You're feeding your kids this
stuff, too you know?
It's time for change.
>> Tom: And that's a food
label cleanup in the grocery
aisle.
>> Next week on "Marketplace".
>> Checkout charity.
It's giving to a good cause.
>> Tom: So how come we don't
always feel good doing it?
>> As soon as I see there's a
campaign going on I think, oh,
brother, here we go again.
>> While stores raise
millions, we're left to wonder
what's in it for them.
>> They don't tell you that at
the checkout counter.
There's no accountability.
>> Some believe there's a
different, better way.
>> Give me a reason to do it
beyond feeling good.
>> Doing good, but feeling
bad.
That's next week.
