New Nutrition Labeling Should Make Healthy Choices Simpler
October 27, 2008 by Susan Watiker
Filed under Fitness
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a lot of time to read labels when I shop. But I also don’t want to grab something I just know I won’t eat later, either. Well, hopefully the dash through the grocery aisle will become a lot simpler after today’s announcement that new front-of-pack nutrition labeling (although voluntary) called “Smart Choices” will soon be available on products in grocery stores across the U.S.
The criteria that will determine which products will and will not qualify for the new labeling system were set by a group of scientists, nutritionists and manufacturers, and were built on science-based nutrition data, in hopes of helping Americans make better food and beverage choices. You’ll see the “Smart Choices” symbol begin to appear next year on products that don’t exceed the standard for “nutrients to limit,” and, for many of the categories of products measured, they must also possess positive qualities like “nutrients to encourage,” or “food groups to encourage.” Products that do qualify for the new label will also be required to clearly display caloric information on the front of the package. It’s about time!
Not a big surprise, some of the “nutrients to limit” include saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, added sugars and cholesterol. “Nutrients to encourage” include fiber, potassium, calcium, magnesium and vitamins A, C and E.
The new initiative was unveiled today at the American Dietetic Association’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. A lot of major companies say they’re already on board–ConAgra, Kraft, General Mills, Kellogg and even Wal-Mart. But the products they plan to request for inclusion in the labeling program have yet to be announced.
It’s great to finally see food manufacturers acknowledge how important it is for them to encourage the ravenous American consumers they normally capitalize on to make better life choices. I hope it becomes the new way to do business. What a great thing that would be for the universe! It’s so important what we feed our bodies and our minds. And sometimes we could all use a little help and guidance.
Peace.
I’m really excited about these new labels. What we currently have isn’t that easy to read or understand without some training for most people.
I hope they do it in Canada too!
The new labels sound very cool. On the ones who don’t make it, though, I’m not sure having the labeling on the front of the package is going to help if they still use a serving size of some miniscule amount of the package. But I’m glad to see that there’s a move in a good direction finally!
I am so glad we have good labels to read now!!!! I am totally a label reader and I am shocked by all the HFCS in healthy foods! I wonder if some day they will be removed from most foods like trans fats are. It would be nice!