Smart Choices Program helps shoppers identify food and bevera...( This summer the Smart Choices Progra...),Health

This summer, the Smart Choices Program TM will appear on hundreds of products in supermarkets and other retail outlets across the country. This first-ever uniform front-of-pack nutrition labeling program, developed by a diverse coalition of scientists, nutritionists, consumer organizations and food industry leaders is designed to promote public health by helping shoppers make smarter food and beverage choices within product categories.

Unlike nutrient scoring systems, rankings or store-based programs, the Smart Choices Program uses a single, green check mark on the front of the product package to provide "at-a-glance" assurance that a product has met strict science-based nutrition criteria derived from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, reports from the Institute of Medicine and other sources of authoritative nutrition guidance. Qualifying products also will display a calorie indicator on-pack that identifies calories per serving and servings per container.

Participating companies with their own "better for you" nutrition labeling symbols have begun replacing them with the Smart Choices Program. Because of its scope and the science behind the new nutrition labeling system, this new program will bring clarity and consistency to the U.S. marketplace. Now shoppers will have a consistent program to identify smarter food and beverage choices, regardless of the stores they shop in or brands they buy.

"The coalition worked very hard to develop nutrition criteria that met the highest of standards and a symbol consumers would appreciate and recognize when making choices at the point of purchase," said Eileen T. Kennedy, DSc, RD, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. "By providing a single, simple communication on the front of the package, the Smart Choices Program can help alleviate confusion in the supermarket and help today's busy shoppers make smarter choices for their families in store and at h
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