Technical Advisors
Meet our Team of Technical Advisors
Every product that displays the Health Check symbol must first meet the program's nutrient criteria. It is Health Check's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that develops the criteria. The committee is made up of registered dietitians and nutrition experts from across Canada who volunteer their time to Health Check.
Spanning the continuum of health services, TAC members have backgrounds in academia, government and nutrition consulting. Their prime responsibility is to establish specific nutrient criteria for each food category in the program.
Criteria are developed in the context of Canada's nutritional guidelines such as the Food Guide, the latest research, and with a focus on overall healthy eating – not just heart healthy eating.
TAC members keep abreast of regulatory and scientific issues, evaluate food trends and track similar programs worldwide and incorporate this information into the Health Check nutrient criteria. TAC members also contribute to educational strategies as well as research and evaluation.
Members of TAC
Chair, Bretta Maloff, RD, MEd: Bretta is Director, Healthy Living for the Calgary Health Region. Her work in health promotion focuses on encouraging and supporting communities to become effective advocates in improving health; promoting citizen participation on issues that impact their health; supporting alliances and coordination on health issues and implementing specific strategies to promote and protect the health of the population.
Fran Berkoff, RD: Fran is a private practice dietitian in Toronto. She is a nutrition columnist for The Toronto Sun newspaper and Canadian Living Magazine and a co-author of three Canadian best selling cookbooks.
Chantal Blais, RD: Chantal is Head of the Clinical Nutrition Service at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal. She is a member of the Ordre Professionnel des diététistes du Québec and a member of the Executive Committee of the Quebec Society for Lipids, Nutrition and Metabolism.
Sharyn Joliat, MSc, RD: Sharyn is President of Info Access (1988) Inc., a company specializing in computer-assisted nutrient analysis of recipes, menus, product formulations, nutrition labelling and related services to a variety of clients. In addition, she provides consulting services on the implementation of computer systems in institutional food service and dietary departments.
Laurie A. Wadsworth, PhD, PDt, FDC: Laurie is an associate professor of the Department of Human Nutrition at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. She has over 12 years of experience in Public Health. Her research interests include effectiveness of nutrition communications, effects of mass media use on food choice behaviours and health promotion program planning and evaluation.
Cara Rosenbloom, RD: Cara is the president of Words to Eat By, a nutrition communications company in Toronto. Cara often appears on TV, radio or in print to spread her nutrition messages to the public and is a frequent contributor to Canadian Living and Glow Health magazines. Cara is also the director of clinical nutrition for MDDirect, an executive health care clinic that helps people of all ages achieve optimal health.
John Jenkins, B. Sc. : John has worked within the packaged foods consumer products industry for over 30 years with major corporations. He also has his own consulting business which specializes in working on a variety of scientific and regulatory issues.
Over the years, John has taken many industry related courses, and has also chaired and participated on many industry committees.
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