Health Check program dropped

Shoppers looking for products with the iconic red checkmark from the Heart and Stroke foundation will soon to be out of luck.

After fifteen years the Heart and Stroke foundation has decided to disband its Health Check program, which awarded food products that met predetermined nutrition criteria.

The organization cited an increase in nutrition labels in grocery stores and restaurants to be the primary reason for it decision to shut down the program.

“Canadian consumers are inundated with nutrition information at the point of purchase, in the media and online,” said a release. “Because of this changing landscape, Health Check is no longer the right program for the time.”

One of the key flaws in the program, said the Terry Dean, director of the Health Check program, was the inability to put the seal of approval on fruits and vegetables.

“We want people to be eating more vegetables and fruit as well as less sodium and less trans fat,” he said in an article in the Globe and Mail.

With that in mind, going forward the Heart and Stroke foundation will focus on broader policies to encourage Canadians to eat healthy foods, as opposed to the predetermined guidelines that were outlined in the Health Check program.

The Health Check website will remain live for the next few months and will remain active on social media, as the logo gradually begins to disappear from grocery products and restaurant menus.

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