Topics Canada's Nutrition & Health Atlas Facts & Trends Food Expenditure Survey Health & Nutrition Surveys Other Surveillance Total Diet Study

Food and Nutrition Surveillance

Health Canada recognizes that a healthy diet, a safe, nutritious food supply and nutritional well-being are essential contributors to a healthy, productive population.

Enhancing health requires surveillance of food and nutrient intakes, food safety, nutritional status and nutrition-related health outcomes. It is also important to monitor factors that influence food and nutrient intakes, such as economic and societal factors and individual factors like knowledge, attitudes and practices.

What do we do?

Food and nutrition surveillance involves the collection, integration, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of food and nutrition data. It relies on a number of activities and a comprehensive range of data sources. Health Canada's Food Directorate and Office of Nutrition Policy and Promotion work with their federal, provincial and territorial partners on a variety of food and nutrition surveillance activities including:

• Collecting data on what Canadians are eating.
• Measuring contaminant levels in some foods.
• Developing methodological and data collection tools and standards.
• Providing guidance on interpreting surveillance data.
• Analyzing and interpreting data to inform programs and policies.

What Information is Available?

In this section, you will find scientific and technical information as well as information of interest to all Canadians.

Background Material:

• Food and Nutrition Surveillance in Canada: An Environmental Scan
  (2000) provides an overview of the context for, and status of, food and nutrition surveillance in Canada.
• Conceptual Model for Canada's Food and Nutrition System illustrates the complexity of the food to health pathway.
• Canadian Nutrient File (CNF) is the standard reference food composition database reporting the amount of nutrients in foods commonly consumed in Canada.