Consultation session of the Multi-stakeholder Working Group on Dietary Sodium Reduction

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The online consultation is now closed. The content found on this page is a snapshot of the live consultation as it was presented to the public and contains the content that was open for submissions during the consultation period.

Health Canada is chairing a Multi-stakeholder Working Group on Dietary Sodium Reduction (Sodium Working Group) tasked with developing and overseeing implementation of a strategy that would result in lowering the sodium content of the diets of Canadians to within the range recommended by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (Dietary Reference Intakes report for sodium).

The strategy will be multi-staged and will be based on a three-pronged approach that will include education, voluntary reduction of sodium levels in processed food products and foods sold in food service establishments, and research.

Membership of the Sodium Working Group (SWG) includes 24 representatives from:

• The scientific community;
• The health professional community;
• Health-focused non-governmental organizations;
• The food manufacturing and food service industry groups;
• Consumer-advocacy groups and;
• Government.

The first SWG meeting was held in February 2008, the second in May 2008 in Ottawa and a teleconference was held on November 24, 2008.

The next meeting of the SWG will take place in Ottawa from February 18-20, 2009. As part of this meeting, Health Canada is giving the opportunity to interested parties and key experts to provide input and advice to the Sodium Working Group as part of a larger public consultation. The consultation meeting will take place on February 19, 2009 in Ottawa.

Agenda of the consultation meeting

How to get Involved

A Sodium Questionnaire, has been developed to obtain feedback from stakeholders on the above mentioned three areas of the approach i.e. education, voluntary reduction of sodium levels in processed food products and foods sold in food service establishments, and research. The feedback received will help SWG in the task of developing a strategy for the successful reduction of the sodium content of the diets of Canadians.

The on-line questionnaire is available for response starting December 11, 2008 until January 26, 2009. The following options are available to stakeholders:

Please respond to some or all of the questions on the Sodium Questionnaire and send us your responses and any additional suggestions electronically by January 26, 2009 to sodium@hc-sc.gc.ca.

If you prefer to send your comments by mail, please send them to:
Nutrition Evaluation Division
Food Directorate
Health Canada
Sir Frederick G. Banting Research Centre
251 Promenade Sir Frederick Banting Driveway
A.L.2203 E
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9
Fax: (613) 941-6636

Should you wish to make a presentation to the SWG at the February 19, 2009 meeting in Ottawa, we ask that you send a 1-2 page summary paper with the topic for your presentation and the questions you intend to address by January 26, 2009 to sodium@hc-sc.gc.ca. Invitations to make a presentation to the Working Group will be issued shortly after January 26. Due to time constraints, we may not be able to accommodate all requests for oral presentations.

Interested stakeholders are also invited to attend the February 19, 2009 consultation as observers. Given that space is limited, the number of representatives from the same organization may have to be limited. Please reserve a spot ahead of time by contacting sodium@hc-sc.gc.ca.

In order to better enhance the transparency of Health Canada consultations, you may submit a Voluntary Statement of Information Form to further inform us of your interest in Health Canada’s work. If you complete the form, please include it with your questionnaire or your request to attend the February 19 meeting.

Reporting to Canadians

Health Canada will make the results of this consultation available on this Web site.

Need More Information?

If you have any questions, contact us at sodium@hc-sc.gc.ca or phone (613) 957-0352.