See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source 

For years, Canadians have wondered why so many packaged foods contain so much sodium, sugar or saturated fat. Health Canada may have found a remarkably simple way to change that: put a magnifying glass on the front of the package and let shoppers decide.

CHARLEBOIS: Magnifying glass is influencing food choices, whether you want to admit it or not Back to video

Since Jan. 1, prepackaged foods that meet or exceed certain thresholds for these nutrients have been required to carry Health Canada’s black and white “high in” symbol. It does not ban a product or tell anyone what to eat. It makes information that was once easy to overlook impossible to miss.

And Canadians are noticing.

A national survey conducted by Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab in partnership with Blendtek Ingredients found that 94.2% of grocery shoppers are aware of front-of-package nutrition symbols, while 86.9% say they understand them well. More than half have decided against buying a product because of a warning,........

© Edmonton Sun