In May 2010, the World Health Organization released recommendations on the marketing of food and beverages to children. It called on governments worldwide to reduce the exposure of children to advertising and to reduce the use of powerful marketing techniques employed by the manufacturers of foods and beverages high in saturated fats, trans-fat acids, free added sugars or sodium.
Today, Canada is acting on those recommendations, following the lead of Quebec, which already restricts marketing to children under the age of 13.
It will take anywhere from five to 10 years to implement the changes, after consultations with industry, stakeholders and the public.
The last food guide was criticized because it was based on much input from industry. Philpott said stakeholders will have a say in the process, but they will not dictate the results.
"I think it's only fair for the people who are selling food to be able to have opportunity to comment in terms of what the impact might be on them," she said. "But they will not have impact on the advice given in the guide."
All meetings and correspondence between stakeholders and officials in her office will be transparent and made public, she said.
Conservative Senator Kelvin Ogilvie, who chaired a committee that carried out a sweeping study on obesity in Canada, welcomed the initiatives as "very encouraging." He called the plan to ensure the food industry remains at arm's length in the decision process "most heart-warming."
"It's a total conflict of interest," he told CBC News. "You simply can't have the people who make the greatest degree of money selling you any product, making a final recommendation to government as to how healthy that product is."