Appendix C
Sources of Criteria and Program Information and Sample Product Evaluations
Criteria and Program Information for Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols |
Choices Program Accessed January 28, 2010 Website: http://choicesprogramme.org/en/about_the_choices_programme/product_criteria |
Goodness Corner Accessed March 18, 2010 |
Guiding Stars Accessed March 18, 2010 Criteria are not publicly available; scores were obtained from Hannaford website and Guiding Stars program staff. Website: http://www.hannaford.com/Contents/Healthy_Living/Guiding_Stars/index.shtml |
Health Check Accessed January 28, 2010 |
Healthy Ideas Accessed January 28, 2010 Website: http://images.giantfood.com/static/full/GNTL/media/living_well/healthy-ideas-criteria.pdf |
Heart Check Accessed March 18, 2010 |
New Zealand Tick Programme Accessed July 19, 2010 Website: http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/sites/tick/Health_Professionals/Pages/TickCriteria.aspx |
Criteria and Program Information for Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols |
Nutrient Rich Food Index (NRFI) Accessed January 28, 2010 Website: http://www.nutrientrichfoods.org/for_health_professionals/scientific_background.html |
NuVal Accessed March 18, 2010 Criteria are not publicly available; scores were obtained from NuVal website and NuVal program staff. Website: http://www.nuval.com/Science/origins |
Sensible Solution Accessed September 25, 2009 Website: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/healthyliving/sensiblesolution/sensiblesolution_landing.aspx |
Smart Choices Accessed January 28, 2010 Website: http://www.smartchoicesprogram.com/professionals.html |
Smart Spot Accessed September 25, 2009 Website: http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Health-and-Wellness/Smart-Spot.html |
Start Making Choices Accessed March 18, 2010 Website: http://www.startmakingchoices.com/tools/pyramid.jsp |
Swedish Keyhole Accessed July 19, 2010 Website: http://www.slv.se/en-gb/Group1/Food-and-Nutrition/Keyhole-symbol/ |
UK Traffic Light Accessed March 18, 2010 |
Wellness Keys (Harris Teeter) Accessed March 18, 2010 Website: http://www.harristeeter.com/yourwellness/wellness_keys.aspx |
Wellness Keys (Wegmans) Accessed March 18, 2010 |
Whole Grain Stamp Accessed January 28, 2010 |
Calculations for NRFI scores: The NRFI scores were calculated using NRFI 6.3 formula (Fulgoni et al., 2009), which includes 6 nutrients to encourage (protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, iron, and calcium) and 3 nutrients to limit (saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars). To calculate scores for illustrative purposes, IOM staff used the information available on the Nutrition Facts panel. As per the published algorithm, a reference value of 125 grams was used for total sugars because added sugars is not available on the Nutrition Facts panel; also protein was not adjusted for protein quality. NRFI scores can theoretically range from –300 to 900, but the majority of foods score in the –150 to 300 range. NRFI raw scores are often divided into quintiles and assigned a score 1–5 for simplicity. Raw scores are more precise for comparing foods and therefore those were used for our comparison tables. |
Crisped Rice Cereal
Toasted Oat Cereal
Sweetened Toasted Oat Cereal
Old-Fashioned Oatmeal
Instant Plain Oatmeal
Apple Cinnamon Cereal Breakfast Bar
Serving Size |
Calories |
Total Fat |
Sat. Fat |
Chol. |
Sodium |
Total Carbs |
Dietary Fiber |
Sugars |
Protein |
Vit. A |
Vit. C |
Iron |
Calcium |
1 Bar (37g) |
130 |
3 g |
.5 g |
0 mg |
105 mg |
24 g |
2 g |
12 g |
2 g |
15% |
20% |
10% |
20% |
Choices |
NC |
NC |
+ |
+ |
+ |
NC |
+ |
max 28 g per 100 g |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
Healthy Ideas |
NC |
max 3 g per 40 g |
+ |
+ |
+ |
NC |
+ vit |
+ |
NC |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Heart Check |
NC |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
NC |
+ vit |
NC |
+ vit |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Sensible Solution |
+ |
+ |
+ |
NC |
+ |
NC |
min 10% DV |
max 25% cal from sugar |
min 10% DV |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Smart Choices |
NC |
+ |
+ |
NC |
+ |
NC |
+ vit |
+ |
NC |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Smart Spot |
NC |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
NC |
min 10% DV |
max 25% cal from sugar |
min 10% DV |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Canada’s Health Check |
NC |
+ |
+ |
NC |
+ |
NC |
+ |
+ |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
GM Goodness Corner |
130 cal label |
low-fat label |
low–sat. fat label |
low-chol. label |
NC |
net carbs given |
min 10% DV for GSL |
grams given |
min 10% DV for GSL |
GSL |
ESL |
GSL |
ESL |
HT Wellness Keys |
max 40 cal for low-cal label |
low-fat and heart-healthy label |
heart-healthy label |
heart-healthy label |
low-sodium and heart-healthy label |
NC |
min 10% DV for GSL |
NC |
min 10% DV for GSL |
GSL and heart-healthy label |
ESL and heart-healthy label |
GSL and heart-healthy label |
ESL and heart-healthy label |
Start Making Choices |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
min 10% DV |
NC |
min 10% DV |
+ |
+ |
+ |
+ |
Wegmans’ Wellness Keys |
max 40 cal for low-cal label |
low-fat and heart-healthy label |
heart-healthy label |
heart-healthy label |
low-sodium and heart-healthy label |
NC |
min 10% DV for high-fiber label |
max 0.5 g for sugar-free label |
NC |
heart-healthy label |
heart-healthy label |
heart-healthy label |
heart-healthy label |
UK Traffic Light |
NC |
amber |
green |
NC |
green |
NC |
NC |
red |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
NC |
Guiding Stars |
1 star (0 to 3 stars) |
||||||||||||
NRFI |
47 (–300 to 900) |
||||||||||||
Nu Val |
25 (1–100) |
Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese
Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese
Reduced Fat Processed Cheese Slices
Fat Free Milk
1% Fat Plain Milk
1% Fat Chocolate Milk
Fat Free Plain Yogurt
Low Fat Fruit Yogurt