Tag: health

The menu-labelling debate has been fodder for conversation for the past five years, but recently the conversation changed — at least in Ontario. It began in earnest last October when Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced proposed legislation that required large chain restaurants (with 20 or more locations in Ontario) to post calorie and other nutritional information on menus.

When it comes to restaurant food, the interest level remains high among today’s increasingly sophisticated consumers. It would have been hard to imagine that fact years ago when food was simply viewed as sustenance. Sure, it feeds a fundamental need, but, in the past, consumers’ knowledge and appreciation of food was limited at best and the extent of product available in the marketplace was dictated, in many cases, by price point. Today, consumers know nearly as much about food as the cooks who prepare it. And, interestingly, this fascination with the subject is being passed on to children as witnessed by the sophisticated choices they’re making in restaurants.


TORONTO — Canada’s foodservice consumers are setting new standards for menu innovation, according to insights from the annual Canadian Trends & Directions Conference, held yesterday at the Westin Prince Hotel in Toronto, where 160 operators and suppliers gathered for a day of learning and networking.

We hear a lot these days about how the food we eat impacts our health. The World Health Organization estimates up to 66,000 Canadians die each year due to nutrition-related diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, with obesity, among adults and children, becoming a concern.