A good thing (And about time) but is Loblaw being economical with the truth?

Sign about artificial ingredients in President's Choice foods, Shoppers Drug Mart, Vancouver

I saw this at a Vancouver Shoppers Drug Mart store, and also saw the same sign at a Real Canadian Superstore.

Consumers are getting more concerned about the volume of added chemicals in their foods, the sales of organic foods is up, and generally people are being more careful about what they consume.

Not using artificial colours of artificial colours is a certainly desirable. This change by Loblaw, the company behind President's Choice (PC), may start a trend in the grocery business in Canada. It will be interesting to see if the other grocery store chains can make the same change with their house brands.

But is that the whole story? Well, consider this product.

President's Choice Diet Cola
(Source: http://www.loblaws.ca/en_CA/products/productlisting/pc_diet_cola3929.html)

Is Aspartame a natural ingredient? Absolutely not. Is is a flavour? Well, that is debatable. It is certainly a sweetener, and sweetness is a major part of flavour. But technically speaking, I think that Loblaw has found the loophole that will enable the continued use of artificial sweeteners. The company is foregoing artificial flavours and artificial colours, but has not said that it will forego artificial ingredients. And therein lies the loophole.

I called Loblaw to get the firm's take on this issue. The person I spoke to had no idea that President's Choice products were now free of artificial colours and artificial colours. If this change is such a big deal it might not be a bad idea to let the people in customer service know about it.