OTTAWA – In an effort to reduce the glamour of hot sauce, Canada’s government announced Tuesday that it will hold three months of public consultations before forcing the Tabasco industry to use generic packages for its products.
Plain packaging is a critical tool to help young people make smart choices about the type, quantity and spiciness of hot sauce to consume,” said Health Minister Jane Phipott. “We want consumers’ decisions on what to put on their chicken wings to be influenced by facts and good science rather than flashy images.”
The new regulations would prohibit all promotional features on Tabasco packaging except for the brand name and require graphic warnings about possible oral, esophageal or ocular pain caused by contact with the sauce. They will also standardize the size and shape of the products, banning specialty packages of slim sauce bottles with hard-to-see spice ratings that target young women.
Plain packaging laws for Tabasco products have already been implemented successfully in Australia, where rates of people frantically downing entire cartons of milk have been steadily declining since 2012.
