Food Consumption in Canada (Part I and Part II)

Detailed information for 1999

The food consumption tables are designed to provide annual measures of the apparent disappearance of food on a per person basis. The data are used by nutritionists and health organizations to monitor the eating habits of Canadians and adjust their programs that often are intended to improve the health of consumers.

Data release - July 4, 2000 (Part I) and November 1, 2000 (Part II)

• Description
• Data sources and methodology

Description

The food consumption tables are designed to provide annual measures of the apparent disappearance of food on a per person basis. All food commodities consumed by Canadians are included in this program including dairy products, beverages, eggs, pulses and nuts, sugars and syrups, cereal products, meats and poultry, citrus fruits, fresh fruits, processed fruits, fresh vegetables, processed vegetables, juices, oils and fats, and fish.

The data are of interest to nutritionists and those involved in the health industry, agricultural producers and their organizations, governments, financial institutions, the agri-food industry and the Canadian consumer. The data are used by nutritionists and health organizations to monitor the eating habits of Canadians and adjust their programs that often are intended to improve the health of consumers. These data are used by agricultural industry analysts and producers as they make production and marketing decisions and by government analysts to monitor the agriculture industry or develop agricultural policies in Canada.

Reference period: Calendar year

Collection period: January to December

Subjects

• Agriculture and food (formerly Agriculture)
• Crops and horticulture
• Food, beverage and tobacco
• Livestock and aquaculture
• Manufacturing

Data sources and methodology

Target population

Conceptually, the universe consists of all Canadians although practically speaking, the food availability (disappearance) is derived residually.

Instrument design

This methodology does not apply.

Sampling

This methodology does not apply.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

The methodology used to obtain these data is unique to each source. A detailed list of these sources is available in catalogue no. 32-509-XPE "Apparent Per Capita Consumption in Canada, Reference manual for publications catalogue nos. 32-229-XIB and 32-230-XIB."

Error detection

Data presented in this program are compiled from a wide variety of sources, both survey and administrative from within Statistics Canada as well as other provincial and federal government departments, growers' associations and marketing boards. All efforts are taken to minimize non-sampling errors through quality controls in the data collection process and through careful review and analysis of all data for consistency. The data are considered of high quality.

Estimation

The supply-disposition approach, which is used to produce per capita consumption statistics, is a residual one. All components of supply are added together and all uses (disposition) other than consumption are deducted. This residual, which represents the amount of food available for human consumption, is referred to as "disappearance". To calculate total supply, imports, beginning stocks and production are added together. Net supply information is obtained by deducting ending stocks, exports, manufacturing uses, livestock feed, and waste where applicable from the total supply. This is then divided by the Canadian population to derive the per capita disappearance of the numerous food types.

Quality evaluation

Data presented by this statistical program are compiled from a wide variety of sources, both survey and administrative from within Statistics Canada as well as other provincial and federal government departments, growers' associations and marketing boards. The data are considered of high quality. Estimates are based on historical averages and ratios. If a small component of the per capita disappearance is not available, the result shown might exclude that component.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.