Canada Food Guide's listing of juice as a fruit serving called 'bananas'
Health Canada now reviewing evidence behind food guide recommendations
A Health Canada review will determine whether juice should be considered a fruit serving in the Canada Food Guide.
The guide currently lists 125 mL or half a cup of fresh, frozen or canned vegetable or fruit or 100 per cent juice as an example of a serving of fruits and vegetables.
The food guide also says to choose vegetables and fruit more often than juice.
But the regulator is now reviewing the evidence behind the guide.
"Depending on the conclusions of the scientific review, guidance for consumption [quantity and frequency] of various foods, including juice, could be updated in the future," Health Canada spokesman Eric Morrissette said in an email.
A glass of juice can sometimes contain much more sugar than a glass of pop.- Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesman
"Health Canada considers, on an ongoing basis, the scientific underpinning of Canada's Food Guide to determine when and if updates might be appropriate."
The time frame for the change isn't known, he added.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation said Wednesday it welcomes changes to nutrition messaging, including a move away from including juice under produce.
"Equating a fruit with a glass of juice is just bananas," Manuel Arango, the foundation's director of health policy, said in a release.
"A glass of juice can sometimes contain much more sugar than a glass of pop. There's nothing healthy about that."
Dietitians and doctors generally advise "eat fruit, don't drink it," in part because juice lacks the fibre found in fruits and vegetables.
The Canadian Beverage Association maintains drinking juice helps people meet the current recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables.
With files from The Canadian Press