Q: Are nutrition claims on food packages misleading?

Some are, yes. Some claims can mislead you into buying a product packed with unhealthy ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, and sodium. For example, a PC Blue Menu Reduce Fat frozen dinner might be might in saturated fat and sodium. A breakfast cereal or snack bar that's labeled "whole grain" might be high in added sugars and contain very little fibre. You need to look beyond the front of the package to get the whole story.

Q: What about the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Health Check logo. Can we assume all products that bear this logo are healthy?

For the most part, yes this red and white logo identifies healthy foods. But the Health Check program is not without its critics. An article published earlier this month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal raised objections to the program citing that in some cases, it endorses foods that are high in sugar or sodium, or that contain red meat or refined flours.

The article contends that Health Check criteria are not strict enough when it comes to sugar and sodium, and in some cases this is true. For instance, the Health Checked Chicken Thai Wrap at Boston Pizza serves up 1180 milligrams of sodium, one-half of the daily upper sodium limit (2300 milligrams). Stouffer's Meat Lasagna - identified by a Health Check symbol on its package - delivers 950 milligrams of sodium per serving, not to mention nearly 40 percent of a day's worth of saturated plus trans fats.

Vachon's Hop & Go Apple Cinnamon Homestyle bars are endorsed by Health Check despite the fact that each bar contains 14 grams of added sugar (3.5 teaspoons worth).

While undoubtedly the strictest on-package labeling program in Canada, the Heart and Stroke Foundation is taking steps to tighten Health Check criteria further. Earlier this month, the foundation released new guidelines for added sugars and trans fat to match revisions to the 2007 food guide. Participating companies whose products don't meet these stricter criteria have until the end of 2009 to comply. All new products being evaluated for Health Check must meet the new criteria immediately. The Heart and Stroke Foundation is also gradually reducing the amount of allowable sodium to support Blood Pressure Canada's recommendation of reducing Canadians daily sodium intake to 1500 milligrams by 2020.

The bottom line: I have always advised looking past the healthy choice logo - or nutrition claim - to get the whole story. You need to read the nutrition label to find the amounts of total fat, saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrate, fiber, sugars, protein, and so on for a specified serving.

Products that don't carry a logo are not necessarily poorer nutritional choices. Some companies might choose not to pay the Heart and Stroke Foundation's license fee for the Health Check logo. Bottom line: read labels to get the whole story.

Q: You have some examples "healthy" foods that don't measure up...can you explain?

Tostito's Multigrain

Sounds like a healthier version of deep-fried corn chips. But according to the ingredient list the top four ingredients are corn, vegetable oil, corn starch and sugar, followed by whole oat flour, whole buckwheat flour and whole wheat flour. There's more refined starch and sugar than whole grain in this snack.

PC Blue Menu Reduced Fat Deep-Dish Chicken Pie

While this frozen entr�e does have less total fat per serving than the original version (17 grams versus 40), it still provides one-third of a day's worth of saturated plus trans fats along with 740 milligrams of sodium.

General Mills Whole Grain Reese's Puffs

Don't be fooled by the large whole grain banner displayed across the box. While the first ingredient is whole grain corn, next on the list are sugar, Reese's creamy peanut butter (more sugar), dextrose (more sugar) and corn syrup. Per serving this "whole grain" cereal provides 12 grams of sugar (3 teaspoons worth) and only 1 gram of fibre.

Kellogg's NutriGrain cereal bars

Made with whole grain oats and real fruit filling, cites the website. Maybe so, but you have to look hard to find the oats and fruit. Whole oats are the third ingredient listed, after flour (refined) and sugar. Turns out the real fruit filling is made from sugar and fruit preserves (more sugar). No wonder each bar packs 14 grams of sugar and only a gram of fibre. Ah, but they're trans fat free!

Kraft LiveActive Cheese

The company's new cheese contains active probiotic (bacterial) cultures, but how much remains a mystery. The company's website doesn't say and Kraft's consumer relations department didn't know. (Experts recommend a daily intake of at least 1 billion active cells in order to achieve health benefits.) As long as you don't cook with LiveActive (heat destroys bacteria), you'll get some beneficial bacteria - along with 11 grams of fat, half of it saturated fat. Yogurt, anyone?