By - 2008-01-29

Health Check is a program that has been made by the Heart and Stroke foundation and is designed to identify foods that can be part of a healthy diet. All the food labeled as healthy had to meet nutrient criteria.

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Health Check is a program that has been made by the Heart and Stroke foundation and is designed to identify foods that can be part of a healthy diet.

All the food labeled as healthy had to meet nutrient criteria based on Canada's Food Guide and Health Canada's Heart Health Claims.

The food is evaluated by the Foundation's dietitians, once the product passes the evaluation it is then identified with a Health Check symbol along with a description of why it is part of a healthy diet.

Each participating product is evaluated on the basis of total fat, sodium, saturated fat, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

The criteria is made by nutrition experts from across the country and the food companies are not involved in setting the criteria for the Health Check program.

Many food companies in Canada and the US set their own criteria when it comes to their own product. With Health Check you can be sure that the evaluations are well founded and precise as the results would not be modified for the profit of the foundation. Healthy eating contributes to overall health! Health Check makes healthy choices easier by helping you quickly identify products that can contribute to a healthy diet.

Health Check is not a diet or eating plan. It is simply a way of identifying foods that can be part of a healthy diet based on Canada's Food Guide.