ConAgra, Coke, Kraft Adopt New Labeling System
November 3, 2008 - Starting in mid-2009, U.S. food manufacturers and retailers -- including Coca-Cola, ConAgra, General Mills, Kellogg Company, Kraft, PepsiCo, Unilever, Wal-Mart -- are likely to voluntarily implement a new front-of-pack nutrition labeling system to help consumers make more nutritious food and beverage choices that fit within their daily calorie needs.
The system, aptly called the Smart Choices Program, was developed under the leadership of The Keystone Center, a non-profit organization that specializes in creating consensus solutions to public health problems. Companies that have joined The Keystone Center's Food and Nutrition Roundtable recently, including Nestle, are in the process of reviewing the program elements and assessing possible implementation of the program.
The system, aptly called the Smart Choices Program, was developed under the leadership of The Keystone Center, a non-profit organization that specializes in creating consensus solutions to public health problems. Companies that have joined The Keystone Center's Food and Nutrition Roundtable recently, including Nestle, are in the process of reviewing the program elements and assessing possible implementation of the program.
"At a time when consumers need to get more value than ever from their food dollars, we should keep in mind that good nutrition is an important component of value," says Gary Rodkin, CEO for ConAgra Foods, which plans to feature the Smart Choices symbol on Healthy Choice meals, Hunt's canned tomatoes and Egg Beaters liquid eggs beginning in winter of 2009.
Susan Crockett, RD, vice president of General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, and a member of the Smart Choices Plenary, agrees, "We believe that a single, credible system that is recognizable and uniform across categories will benefit consumers. The new Smart Choices initiative harmonizes and unifies various competing approaches, reducing potential confusion and making it easier for consumers to identify healthy food choices and compare calorie and serving information at-a-glance."
Thus far, the program includes a symbol that identifies more nutritious choices within specific product categories. To qualify for the symbol, products cannot exceed standards for specific "nutrients to limit" and, for most categories, must also provide positive attributes: "nutrients to encourage" or "food groups to encourage" (see bullets below). Specific qualifying criteria were developed for 18 different product categories, such as beverages, cereals, meats, dairy and snacks.
> Nutrients to limit: total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, added sugars and sodium
> Nutrients to encourage: calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E
> Food groups to encourage: fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy
Products that qualify for the Smart Choices Program symbol will also display calorie information on the front of the package, which clearly states calories per serving and number of servings per container. The goal is to help people stay within their daily calorie needs and make it easier for calorie comparisons within and across product categories.