Title: Unveiling a Uniform FrontofPackage Nutrition Labeling Program
1Unveiling a Uniform Front-of-Package Nutrition
Labeling Program
- Presentation of the Smart Choices Program
- Biscuit and Cracker Manufacturers Association
- 84th Technical Conference
- September 22, 2009
2What We Want to Do
- Introduce you to a new coalition-based approach
to front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition labeling - An effort spearheaded by the Keystone Center that
involved multiple stakeholders - Preview the major program components
- New symbol and calorie information
- Provide brief overview of the nutrition criteria
and food categories - Including scientific foundation, rationale
- Discuss our implementation plan and next steps
2
3About the Keystone Center
- The Keystone Center works with a broad array of
stakeholders to develop consensus solutions to
complex health and social policy changes - Wide range of projects in the area of health
policy - Medicine, health care, food and nutrition,
workplace safety, chronic and infectious diseases - The Keystone Food and Nutrition Roundtable was
established in 2007 to drive durable improvements
in the American diet and public health - Initial focus on the food label
- Evolved into a discussion of FOP labeling
3
4About ASN/NSF
- After conducting in-depth research and
interviewing candidates, the coalition identified
American Society of Nutrition (ASN) and NSF
International (NSF) to serve as the governing
body and mechanism for this program.
5Our Coalition-Based Approach
- Unique, unprecedented partnership
- Bringing together wide range of perspectives
- Collaborative effort during last two years
- Committed to concept of single, uniform system
- Input included
- Scientists and nutrition educators
- Experts with dietary guidelines experience
- Public health organizations
- Food manufacturers
- Retailers
5
6Government Observers
- Government agencies served as observers and
consulted in the dialogue throughout this
collaborative process - U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (ARS and CNPP)
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Food and Drug Administration (CFSAN)
- Federal Trade Commission
- National Institutes of Health
7Why We Came Together
8Need For Alignment
- Proliferation of labels
- Numerous front-of-pack symbols and icons
- Little uniformity
- Derived from different criteria, have various
meanings - Concerns about potential confusion
- Clutter the aisles and shoppers minds
8
9Consistent Message
- A unified approach will help bring clarity and
consistency to the marketplace - Providing a consistent message no matter where
someone shops or what brands they buy - The end goal
- To help make it easier for people to quickly
identify smarter food and beverage choices - within product categories
10How The Group Has Worked
- Activity
- Series of plenary meetings
- Intensive work groups
- Resources
- Relying on consensus science
- Outside expertise in consumer research, creative
design and communications - Key protocols
- Consensus-based decision making
- Deliberations off-the-record and not for
attribution - Participants speak as individuals, not
organizations
10
11Defining Elements
- Transparent
- Nutrition elements (including criteria) and
governing mechanism - Developed collaboratively
- Scientific consensus, diverse panel of sectors
and disciplines - Cuts potential consumer confusion
- Simple to use, widely implemented
- Comprehensive
- Diet and health needs of entire U.S. population
- Sustainable
- Durable over time, responsive to new information
- Criteria guides food product innovation and
reformulation - Applied voluntarily
11
12Take A Look
13(No Transcript)
14Smart Choices Program
- A front-of-pack symbol to guide consumers in
making smarter food and beverage choices - Individual products evaluated against nutrition
criteria established for 19 different product
categories - Front-of-pack calorie information intended to
help people stay within their daily calorie needs - Calories per serving, servings per container
- Required on products carrying the symbol
- Nutrition criteria based on nutrients to limit,
nutrients/food groups to encourage - Positive attributes do not compensate for
nutrients to limit
14
15Nutrition Criteria
- Derived from consensus science
- 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- FDA standard definition for healthy
- USDA definition for extra lean
- Additional federal standards and authoritative
guidance - Institutes of Medicine, World Health
Organization, Centers for Disease Control - When necessary, will be revised to reflect
updated authoritative guidance, including 2010
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
15
16Nutrition CriteriaCategory-Specific
- Nutrients to limit
- Total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol,
added sugars, sodium - Nutrients to encourage
- Calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin A,
vitamin C, vitamin E - Nutrients of concern as identified in Dietary
Guidelines for Americans - 10 Daily Value (good source)
- Food groups to encourage
- Fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
fat-free/low-fat milk products - Provide at least 1/2 serving as identified in
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
16
17General Benchmarks
Total Fat
35 of calories
Saturated Fat
lt 10 of calories
Trans Fat
0 g (labeled)
Cholesterol
60 mg per serving
Added Sugars
25 of calories
Sodium
480 mg per serving
18Calories
- No authoritative, scientific standard for calorie
threshold based on 2,000 calorie diet - Calorie levels set for
- Meals, sauces, snacks, desserts and beverages
- Not applicable for
- Processed fruits, vegetables, 100 juices
- Breads, grains, pasta, cereals
- Fresh/frozen/canned fruits and vegetables with no
additives - Meat, fish, poultry eggs, meat alternatives
- Seeds, nuts, nut butters
- Milk, dairy products, dairy substitutes
(including soy beverages), cheeses/cheese
substitutes - Fats, oils and spreads (including butter)
- Soups, meal sauces, and mixed side dishes
- Alternative thresholds for products 100 calories
or less - To prevent lower calorie options from missing the
mark on smaller portion sizes
19Food Specific CriteriaSnack Foods and Sweets
- Calories lt 160
- Total Fat lt 35 calories or lt 3g/100 calories
- Saturated Fat lt calories or lt 1g/100 calories
- Trans Fat 0g labeled
- Cholesterol lt 60mg/RACC
- Added Sugar lt 25 calories or 6g/100 calories
- Sodium lt 240 mg
- AND
- Nutrients to Encourage (10 DV Ca, K, Fiber, Mg,
Vit A,C or E) - OR
- Food Group to Encourage (½ serving Fruits,
Vegetables, Whole Grains, or Fat free of low fat
Milk Products)
20Added Sugars Rationale
In some cases, small amounts of sugars added to
nutrient-dense foods, such as breakfast cereals
and reduced-fat milk products, may increase a
persons intake of such foods by enhancing the
palatability of these products, thus improving
nutrient intake without contributing excessive
calories.
- Considered on a meal basis
- WHO (2003) 10 of calories from free sugars,
- 2000 calorie diet x .10 200 calories/day
- Based on 4 eating occasions per day
- 200 calories/4 eating occasions 50
calories/eating occasion - Grams per eating occasion 50 calories/4 12.5
g (rounded to 12 g)
21Filling Nutrient Gaps
- Dietary guidelines recommend eating a variety of
foods from all food groups every day - Smart Choices Program nutrients to encourage
- Calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin A,
vitamin C, vitamin E - Nutrients of concern as identified in Dietary
Guidelines for Americans - 10 Daily Value (good source)
- Smart Choices Program food groups to encourage
- Fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
fat-free/low-fat milk products - Provide at least 1/2 serving as identified in
Dietary Guidelines for Americans
22Whole Grains
- 1/2 serving or 8 g
- Based on 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
16 g 1 oz. equivalent of whole grains - USDA statement 8 g significant source of whole
grains - Exceptions
- Grain-based foods (breads, cereals, pasta, etc.)
- Whole grains must be gt 50 of the grains (meets
recommendation that half the grains be whole
grains/Dietary Guidelines for Americans) - Minimum of 8 g of whole grain per serving
23Approach to Fortification
- Fortification is credited for purposes of
qualifying a product to carry the symbol - Important to note
- All nutrients to encourage in the Smart Choices
Program are shortfall nutrients as identified in
the Dietary Guidelines for Americans - Some product categories do not require a nutrient
or food group to encourage, in come cases to
avoid motivating inappropriate fortification - Implementing companies will be expected to adhere
to FDA fortification policy
24Product Categories
Bread, grains, pasta
- Nutrients to limit and 1 nutrient or food group
to encourage
Cereals
- Nutrients to limit and 1 nutrient or food group
to encourage
Snack foods and Sweets
- Nutrients to limit and 1 nutrient or food group
to encourage
24
25Why FOP Calorie Information?
- Calories count!
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasize
importance of consuming a healthy diet within
daily calorie needs - Energy BALANCE is essential
- Calories in vs. calories out is necessary to
maintain a healthy weight - Energy IMBALANCE is key factor contributing to
overweight and obesity - Public policy guidance repeatedly states
relationship between obesity and health risks
Americans should obtain adequate nutrients within
calorie needs.
2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
To maintain a constant body weight over time,
energy in from food must equal energy out
FDA Calories Count
Increases in weight are of a concern due to
implications for health. Being overweight or
obese increases the risk of many diseases and
health conditions.
CDC Achieving a Balance
25
26FOP Calorie Information
- Identifies calories per serving and number of
servings per container on the front-of-pack - Intended to help people stay within daily calorie
needs as they make smarter food and beverage
choices - Replicates calorie information from Nutrition
Facts panel - Goals of putting calories on front-of-pack
- Provide easy to find, easy to read information
- Provide context around portion size
- Help people make informed decisions about how
much of a product to eat or drink - Allow for easy calorie comparisons within product
categories
26
27How We Came To This Approach
28Varied Approaches to
FOP Labeling
- Smart food and beverage choices
- Fact-based
- Nutrient profiling
- Food ranking or scoring
- Traffic light
- Nutrient content
29Benefits of Our Approach
- Flags the foods and beverages you want to
encourage - Based on consensus science
- Goes beyond the information in the Nutrition
Facts panel - Not simply a summary of the facts
- Nutrition criteria specific to product categories
- Allows for product comparisons within categories
- Brings calorie information from the back or side
panel to the front - Reinforces the calories count message
- Reduces the confusion of multiple systems
30Validated With Consumers
- Commissioned consumer research by Perception
Research Services - Experts in package labeling field research
- Qualitative phase
- To explore reactions to a range of FOP
expressions to guide refinements and enhancements - Quantitative phase
- To evaluate the extent program elements deliver
against the in-going brief to help consumers
easily identify smart food and beverage choices
within a given category -
30
31Qualitative Research Results
- Consumers in 8 focus groups told us
- They like the idea of a sound labeling system
because - It would help them identify smarter food and
beverages choices would simplify the shopping
and selection experience - It would provide nutritional credibility through
consistent, uniform standard within product
categories and brands - They found the proposed symbol easy to interpret
- It clearly communicated smart choices in a
simple, confident and credible way - It provided a source of encouragement and
approval, was serious, conveyed the idea of good
nutrition and made them interested in further
information - They thought calorie information on front-of-pack
would be valuable - Easy to see, important information to have
31
32Key Feedback
With this program you dont have to learn each
companys symbol.
Itll help people to help themselves.
If I make this choice Ill be proud of myself.
I would look closer at the packages that are
marked this way. It would draw me in.
With this, the homework has already been done
for us.
32
33Key Findings
- Both options (symbol alone and symbol plus
calorie information) significantly improve (p
.01) peoples ability to identify smarter food
and beverage choices - Though eye tracking suggests consumers dont
immediately notice the symbol or calorie
information, in actual practice the system
clearly helps consumers identify smarter food and
beverage choices - Inclusion of the symbol and calorie information
had no negative effect on consumers likelihood
of looking at the Nutrition Facts information - Consumer perceptions of the symbol and calorie
information are positive - 75 of respondents say both would be helpful in
making food and beverage choices, as well as
identifying smarter options among the products
available
33
34Additional Consumer Benefit
- Stimulate product innovations and reformulations
- R D hard at work changing existing products and
developing new products that would meet the
strict nutrition criteria nutrition criteria - Change the face of the supermarket
- Offering more choices to help promote public
health
35Whats Next
- Continue to brief key stakeholders
- Government agencies, manufacturers and retailers
- Eight companies have committed to participate
while dialogue continues with other companies - Media outreach began August 2009
- Consumer education plan TBD
- Roll-out in summer 2009
35
36Smart Choices Program
- Companies participating in
- the Smart Choices Program
- Launch include
- ConAgra
- General Mills
- Kellogg
- Kraft Foods
- PepsiCo
- Sun Maid
- Tyson
- Unilever
37www.SmartChoicesProgram.com
- For more information
- Please call 877-SCP-1410 (877-727-1410)
- Sarah Krol, Business Manager, Smart Choices
Programinfo_at_smartchoicesprogram.com
38Questions?
38