Unconventional Panel: Does Canada need more labels on food products?

This week, the federal government announced plans to make changes to the way Canadian food products are labelled.

It wants to eventually add labels to the front of packages that will highlight if a product is high or low in certain nutrients such as sugar, salt and saturated fats so that with a quick glance consumers will know if they're making healthy, or unhealthy, choices.

• Does Canada really need more labels on food products? Leave your comments below.

The members of this week's Unconventional Panel couldn't wait to give us their two cents on this topic. The following is an edited version of their conversation on the Calgary Eyeopener.

Manjit Minhas, CEO of Minhas Micro Brewery

You go to a grocery store and ... sure we all know fruits are better than chips, but are the Sun Chips better than the Doritos?"

I think, why not regulate it? Make it simpler.

It's something we need to teach our kids, and as adultsI think we'velost our way to know and to be clear on what is in what we're eating.

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Ravin Moorthy, Calgary engineer

At some point in life, we have to let people make the mistakes that they want to make. We can't control everything. It's like smoking. I'm sure there's a lot of research that tells you those pictures on the cigarette packages discourage people from smoking, that's great. But if by now you don't know that smoking can kill you or cause cancer, there's a bigger problem at stake here and maybe you're just not getting it.

If manufacturers have to spend money repackaging products ultimately that cost is going to be passed on to us, the consumer.

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George Brookman, CEO of West Canadian Industries

It will mean that all sorts of foods that we buy today from Holland or France or Germany or the United States will have to be repackaged and some of those exporters will say, whoa, we're not doing that for just one little country.So, it's one of those things that's very difficult.

Calgary Eyeopener6:51Unconventional Panel on food labelling

Should the federal government introduce new, stricter labelling requirements for food sold in Canada? Our Unconventional Panel debates the issue.

Ravin: Like anythingif we let the market decide, the right things will happen.

Manjit: Wellthe market has decided so far and they're putting toys in cereal boxes for kids.

George: They've always done that.

Manjit: Doesn't mean it's right!