To help Americans make smarter choices when it comes to nutrition and improve the health of the public, a divers group of health organizations, scientists, food and beverage manufacturers, academicians, and retailers have created a new, voluntary front-of-pack nutrition labeling system that they called the Smart Choice Program™.This Smart Choice Program was motivated by the need for a single, reliable, and trusted front-of-pack nutrition labeling program that U.S. retailers and food manufacturers could adopt voluntarily to help the consumers make nutritious beverage and food choices that fit within their daily calorie needs. The program was developed under the leadership of The Keystone Center, which is a non-profit organization specializing in creating consensus solutions to correct public health problems. The Smart Choices Program includes a symbol that indentifies choices that are more nutritious within specific product categories and provides information about calories that identifies calories per serving and number of servings per container on front-of-pack, with the intent of helping people stay within their daily calorie needs.
Although all of the details of this program are not yet finalized, several companies have stated they are likely to implement the Smart Choices Program. These companies include General Mills, Coca-Cola (US), Kellogg Company (US), ConAgra Foods, Pepsi Co, Wal-Mart, and Kraft Foods. Companies that have already joined The Keystone Center’s Food and Nutrition Roundtable recently, including Nestle, are in the process of reviewing the program elements and assessing the possible implementation of this program.
Coalition participant, Eileen T. Kennedy, DSc, RD, and Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, said, “This effort has been extraordinary on two levels.... First, it’s been a tremendous accomplishment to achieve consensus among a divers group of influential stakeholders. Second, we’ve created a program that show real promise in assisting people in making positive dietary changes to help enhance public health.”
The coalition has work collaboratively to develop the science-based nutrition criteria for the Smart Choices Program, by relying on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and additional sources that give authoritative guidance from consensus science, including the FDA standard and also reports from the Institute of Medicine and other groups. To qualify for the symbol, product must not exceed standards for specific “nutrients to encourage” or “food groups to encourage.” There were specific qualifying criteria developed for 18 different categories of products, such as meats, beverages, snacks, and cereals.
• Nutrients to encourage consist of – fiber, calcium, vitamin A, potassium, vitamin E, and vitamin C
• Food groups to encourage consist of – whole grains, vegetables and fruits, , and low-fat or fat-free dairy products
Products that will qualify for the Smart Choices Program symbol will also display information about calories on the front of the package, which will clearly state calories per serving and number of serving per container. The goal of this program is to help people stay within their daily calorie needs and make it easier for comparisons of calories within and across product categories.
Coalition participant, Susan Borra, Rd, and president of the International Food Information Council Foundation, stated that the research conducted indicates that a single, at-a-glance labeling system on the front of packages of food would help simplify the selection and shopping experience. “Consumers said they felt one uniform standard across product categories and brands provided clarity, credibility, and assurance that foods were more nutritious choices.”
The Smart Choices Program is intended to provide consumers with a consistent message no matter where they are shopping or what brands they want to buy. The program symbol and calorie information will begin to appear on packages in mid-2009.
The coalition is dedicated to transparency, making its process and nutrition criteria available to the public. Also, the program was designed to be adaptable and flexible, therefore allowing for revisions as new dietary guidelines, public policy, and authoritative science emerges, as well as encouraging innovation for beverage and food products.
If you would like to learn more information about the Smart Choices Program you can visit http://www.smartchoicesprogram.com for further information.
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