Table 1.
Health Canada Surveillance Tool Tier Thresholds 1.
| Tier | Alignment to CFG | Conditions: Fats, Sugars and Sodium Content of Foods | Thresholds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foods in line with CFG | Foods that do not exceed any of the three lower thresholds for total fat, sugars and sodium 2 | Lower thresholds: Total Fat: ≤3 g/RA | |
| 2 | Foods in line with CFG | Foods that exceed one or two lower thresholds for total fat, sugars or sodium, without exceeding any upper thresholds | Sugars: ≤6 g/RA Sodium: ≤140 mg/RA |
|
| 3 | Foods partially in line with CFG | Vegetables and Fruit and Grain Products | Milk and Alternatives and Meat and Alternatives | |
| Foods that exceed all three lower thresholds without exceeding any upper thresholds for total fat, saturated fat, sugars or sodium, or | Foods that exceed all three lower thresholds without exceeding any upper thresholds for total fat, sugars or sodium 3, or | |||
| Foods that exceed only one upper threshold for total fat, saturated fat, sugars or sodium | Foods that exceed only one upper threshold for total fat, sugars or sodium 3, or | |||
| Foods that only exceed the upper saturated fat threshold | ||||
| 4 | Foods not in line with CFG | Vegetables and Fruit and Grain Products | Milk and Alternatives and Meat and Alternatives | Upper thresholds: Total Fat: >10 g/RA, Sugars: >19 g/RA, Sodium: >360 mg/RA, |
| Foods that exceed at least two upper thresholds for total fat, saturated fat, sugars or sodium | Foods that exceed at least two upper thresholds for total fat, sugars or sodium 3 | Saturated fat: >2 g/RA | ||
| “Others” | Foods in line with CFG | Water, unsaturated fats and oils 4 | ||
| Foods not in line with CFG | High calorie beverages (≥40 kcal/100g), low calorie beverages (<40 kcal/100 g), high fat and/or sugar foods, meal replacements, saturated and/or trans fats and oils, supplements, ingredients/seasonings | |||
1 Adapted from Health Canada’s The Development and Use of a Surveillance Tool: The Classification of Foods in the Canadian Nutrient File According to Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide, 2014 [56]. 2 Cannot exceed the upper threshold for saturated fat. 3 Irrespective of saturated fat content (value may be above or below upper saturated fat threshold). 4 HCST has defined unsaturated fats and oils as: “a fat or oil, (for example: salad dressing, margarine or mayonnaise) that has greater than or equal to 50% kilocalories from fat and 2 grams or less saturated and trans fatty acids combined per reference amount. If the fat or oil did not meet these criteria, it was classified in saturated and/or trans fats and oils”. CFG—Canada’s Food Guide, RA—Reference Amount.