Nutritional rating systems

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Nutritional rating systems are used to communicate the nutritional value of food in a more-simplified manner, with a ranking (or rating), than nutrition facts labels. A system may be targeted at a specific audience. Rating systems have been developed by governments, non-profit organizations, private institutions, and companies. Common methods include point systems to rank (or rate) foods based on general nutritional value or ratings for specific food attributes, such as cholesterol content. Graphics and symbols may be used to communicate the nutritional values to the target audience.

Contents

Types

Glycemic index

Glycemic index is a ranking of how quickly food is metabolized into glucose when digested. It compares available carbohydrates gram-for-gram in foods to provide a numerical, evidence-based index of postprandial (post-meal) blood sugar level. The concept was introduced in 1981. [1] The glycemic load of food is a number which estimates how much a food will raise a person's blood glucose level.[ citation needed ]

Guiding Stars

Guiding Stars is a patented food-rating system which rates food based on nutrient density with a scientific algorithm. Foods are credited with vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, whole grains and Omega-3 fatty acids, and discredited for saturated fat, trans fats, and added sodium (salt) and sugar.

Rated foods are tagged with one, two or three stars, with three stars the best ranking. The program began at Hannaford Supermarkets in 2006, and is found in over 1,900 supermarkets in Canada and the US. Guiding Stars has expanded into public schools, colleges and hospitals. [2]

The evidence-based, proprietary algorithm is based on the dietary guidelines and recommendations of regulatory and health organizations, including the US Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture and the World Health Organization. The algorithm was developed by a scientific advisory panel composed of experts in nutrition and health from Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Tufts University, the University of North Carolina, and other colleges. [2]

Health Star Rating System

Health Star Rating System Health Star Rating System.jpg
Health Star Rating System

The Health Star Rating System (HSR) is an Australian and New Zealand Government initiative that assigns health ratings to packaged foods and beverages. Ratings scale by half star increments between half a star up to five stars, with the higher the rating, the healthier the product. A calculator uses nutritional information such as total sugar, sodium, energy and other variants to obtain a rating for the product. Points are added for "healthy" nutrients such as fibres, proteins and vegetable matter whilst points are deducted for "unhealthy" nutrients that have been scientifically linked to chronic health disease, such as fats and sugars.[ citation needed ]

Nutri-Score

Nutri-Score Nutri-score-A light background logo.svg
Nutri-Score

Nutri-Score is a nutrition label guide recommended by the European Commission and World Health Organization. [3] It is a 5-color nutrition label selected by the French government in March 2017 for display on food products to facilitate consumer understanding of nutrient composition. [4] [5] [6] It relies on the computation of a nutrient profiling system derived from the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency score. [6]

A Nutri-Score for a particular food item is given one of five color-coded letters, with 'A' (enlarged letter, dark green) as a score indicating excellent nutrient composition, and 'E' (dark orange) as a low-rated, nutrient-poor score. [6] The calculation of the score involves seven different parameters of nutrient content per 100 g of food typically displayed on food packages. [6] High content of fruits and vegetables, dietary fiber, and protein promote a higher score, while high content of calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium promote a detrimental score. [6]

NutrInform

NutrInform is an Italian alternative to Nutri-Score, backed by the country's Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. [7] [8]

Nutripoints

Nutripoints [9] is a food-rating system which places foods on a numerical scale based on their overall nutritional value. The method is based on an analysis of 26 positive factors (such as vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber) and negative factors (such as cholesterol, saturated fat, sugar and sodium) relative to calories. The Nutripoint score of the food is the result. The higher the value, the more nutrition per calorie (nutrient-dense) and the fewest negative factors exist in the food.[ citation needed ]

Nutripoints was developed by Doctor of Public Health Roy E. Vartabedian during the 1980s and was released in 1990 with his book, Nutripoints, which was published in thirteen countries in ten languages. The food-rating system is part of a program to help people measure, balance, and upgrade their diet for improvement in well-being. [10] The system rates over 3,600 foods, from apples and oranges to fast foods and brand-name products.[ citation needed ]

Points Food System

WeightWatchers developed the Points Food System for use with its Flex Plan. The system's primary objective is to maintain a healthy weight and to track weight loss or gain over time. It is designed to allow users to eat any food, tracking the number of points for each food consumed.

Members try to keep to their points target for a given time within a given range, which is personalized based on the member's height, weight and other factors (such as gender). A weekly points allowance is established to provide for special occasions and occasional overindulgences. [11]

Naturally Nutrient Rich

Developed by Adam Drewnowski of the University of Washington, the Naturally Nutrient Rich system is based on mean-percentage Daily Values for 14 nutrients in food with 2,000 calories. It proposes to assign nutrient-density values to foods within and across food groups. The score allows consumers to identify and select nutrient-dense foods, permitting flexibility in discretionary calories consumed. [12]

Traffic light rating system

Past systems

NuVal

The overall nutritional quality index was a nutritional-rating system developed at the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center. [13] It assigned foods a score between 1 and 100 which reflected overall nutrition relative to calories consumed. [14] Marketed as NuVal, it was widely adopted in United States grocery stores before it was discontinued in 2017 [14] [13] amid accusations of conflicts of interest and for its refusal to publish the scoring algorithm. [15] Scoring inconsistencies occurred, in which processed foods scored higher than canned fruits and vegetables. [15]

Smart Choices Program

Launched late in 2009, the Smart Choices Program (SCP) [16] was a rating system developed by a coalition of companies from the food industry. The criteria for rating food products used 18 different attributes. The system had varying levels of acceptability based on 16 types of food which allowed for wide discretion in the selection of foods to include in the program. The program was discontinued in October 2009 after sharp criticism for including products such as Froot Loops, Lucky Charms, and Frosted Flakes as Smart Choices. [17] [18]

On August 19, 2009, the FDA wrote a letter to SCP manager saying: "FDA and FSIS would be concerned if any FOP labeling systems used criteria that were not stringent enough to protect consumers against misleading claims, were inconsistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, or had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed foods and refined grains instead of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains." [19] SCP was suspended in 2009 after the FDA's announcement that they will be addressing both on front-of- package and on-shelf systems. SCP Chair Mike Hughes said: "It is more appropriate to postpone active operations and channel our information and learning to the agency to support their initiative." [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human nutrition</span> Nutrients supporting human health

Human nutrition deals with the provision of essential nutrients in food that are necessary to support human life and good health. Poor nutrition is a chronic problem often linked to poverty, food security, or a poor understanding of nutritional requirements. Malnutrition and its consequences are large contributors to deaths, physical deformities, and disabilities worldwide. Good nutrition is necessary for children to grow physically and mentally, and for normal human biological development.

Food energy is chemical energy that animals derive from their food to sustain their metabolism, including their muscular activity.

In the U.S. and Canada, the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) is used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products to indicate the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of healthy individuals in every demographic in the United States. While developed for the US population, it has been adopted by other countries, such as Canada.

The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is a system of nutrition recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) of the National Academies. It was introduced in 1997 in order to broaden the existing guidelines known as Recommended Dietary Allowances. The DRI values differ from those used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada, which uses Reference Daily Intakes (RDIs) and Daily Values (%DV) which were based on outdated RDAs from 1968 but were updated as of 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low-carbohydrate diet</span> Diets restricting carbohydrate consumption

Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein, as well as low carbohydrate foods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthy diet</span> Type of diet

A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.

The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, created on December 1, 1994, to improve the health and well-being of Americans by establishing national dietary guidelines based on the best science available. CNPP promotes dietary guidance by linking scientific research to the nutritional needs of the American public through the function of USDA's Nutrition Evidence Library, which it created and manages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empty calories</span> Calories with no nutritional value

In human nutrition, empty calories are those calories found in foods and beverages composed primarily or solely of calorie-rich macronutrients such as sugars and fats, but little or no micronutrients, fibre, or protein. Foods composed mostly of empty calories have low nutrient density, meaning few other nutrients relative to their energy content. Empty calories are more difficult to fit into a diet that is both balanced and within TDEE, and so readily create an unhealthy diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutrition facts label</span> Table of nutrition facts on food labels

The nutrition facts label is a label required on most packaged food in many countries, showing what nutrients and other ingredients are in the food. Labels are usually based on official nutritional rating systems. Most countries also release overall nutrition guides for general educational purposes. In some cases, the guides are based on different dietary targets for various nutrients than the labels on specific foods.

Nutrient density identifies the amount of beneficial nutrients in a food product in proportion to e.g. energy content, weight or amount of perceived detrimental nutrients. Terms such as nutrient rich and micronutrient dense refer to similar properties. Several different national and international standards have been developed and are in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple cider vinegar</span> Vinegar made from fermented apple juice

Apple cider vinegar, or cider vinegar, is a vinegar made from cider, and used in salad dressings, marinades, vinaigrettes, food preservatives, and chutneys. It is made by crushing apples, then squeezing out the juice. The apple juice is then fermented by yeast which converts the sugars in the juice to ethanol. In a second fermentation step, the ethanol is converted into acetic acid by acetic acid-forming bacteria, yielding cider vinegar. Acetic acid and malic acid combine to give this vinegar its sour taste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western pattern diet</span> Modern dietary pattern

The Western pattern diet is a modern dietary pattern that is generally characterized by high intakes of pre-packaged foods, refined grains, red meat, processed meat, high-sugar drinks, candy and sweets, fried foods, industrially produced animal products, butter and other high-fat dairy products, eggs, potatoes, corn, and low intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pasture-raised animal products, fish, nuts, and seeds.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) provide nutritional advice for Americans who are healthy or who are at risk for chronic disease but do not currently have chronic disease. The Guidelines are published every five years by the US Department of Agriculture, together with the US Department of Health and Human Services. Notably, the most recent ninth edition for 2020–25 includes dietary guidelines for children from birth to 23 months. In addition to the Dietary Guidelines per se, there are additional tools for assessing diet and nutrition, including the Healthy Eating Index (HEI), which can be used to assess the quality of a given selection of foods in the context of the Dietary Guidelines. Also provided are additional explanations regarding customization of the Guidelines to individual eating preferences, application of the Guidelines during pregnancy and infancy, the USDA Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review, information about the Nutrition Communicators Network and the MyPlate initiative, information from the National Academies about redesigning the process by which the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are created, and information about dietary guidelines from other nations.

A Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) was a nutrition facts label originally designed in 1996 in the United Kingdom (UK) as a collaboration between the government, the food industry and consumer organisations. GDAs appeared on the front and back of food packaging to help raise awareness of how much a food item represents as a proportion of a balanced intake each day in each food element. The British initiative was followed in the European Union (EU) and influenced similar systems in other countries including the United States.

Dietary Reference Values (DRV) is the name of the nutritional requirements systems used by the United Kingdom Department of Health and the European Union's European Food Safety Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preventive nutrition</span> Branch of nutrition science

Preventive Nutrition is a branch of nutrition science with the goal of preventing, delaying, and/or reducing the impacts of disease and disease-related complications. It is concerned with a high level of personal well-being, disease prevention, and diagnosis of recurring health problems or symptoms of discomfort which are often precursors to health issues. The overweight and obese population numbers have increased over the last 40 years and numerous chronic diseases are associated with obesity. Preventive nutrition may assist in prolonging the onset of non-communicable diseases and may allow adults to experience more "healthy living years." There are various ways of educating the public about preventive nutrition. Information regarding preventive nutrition is often communicated through public health forums, government programs and policies, or nutritional education. For example, in the United States, preventive nutrition is taught to the public through the use of the food pyramid or MyPlate initiatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food labelling and advertising law (Chile)</span> Food labeling and advertising law in Chile (2016)

Chile's food labelling and advertising law, formally titled Ley 20.606, sobre la composición de los alimentos y su publicidad establishes a regulatory framework on food security and healthy food with the intention of guiding consumers towards behaviour patterns that promote public health. After the 2012 law was enacted, its accompanying regulations came into full force on June 27, 2016. Andrew Jacobs, writing for The New York Times, has characterized this measure as "the world’s most ambitious attempt to remake a country’s food culture" and suggests it "could be a model for how to turn the tide on a global obesity epidemic that researchers say contributes to four million premature deaths a year."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nutri-Score</span> Nutrition label

The Nutri-Score, also known as the 5-Colour Nutrition label or 5-CNL, is a five-colour nutrition label and nutritional rating system, and an attempt to simplify the nutritional rating system demonstrating the overall nutritional value of food products. It assigns products a rating letter from A (best) to E (worst), with associated colors from green to red.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health Star Rating System</span> Food label system in Australia and New Zealand

The Health Star Rating System (HSR) is an Australian and New Zealand Government initiative that assigns health ratings to packaged foods and beverages. The purpose for the Health Star Rating is to provide a visual comparison of like for like products, to assist consumers into distinguishing and choosing the healthier options. It was designed to target time-deprived working adults as well as parents and children who were less likely to check how healthy each individual product was, through examination of the nutritional facts label on the back of products.

Food labeling in Mexico refers to the official norm that mainly consists of placing labels on processed food sold in the country in order to help consumers make a better purchasing decision based on nutritional criteria. The system was approved in 2010 under the Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM) NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1-2010. The standards, denominated as Daily Dietary Guidelines, were based on the total amount of saturated fats, fats, sodium, sugars and energy or calories represented in kilocalories per package, the percentage they represented per individual portion, as well as the percentage that they would represent in a daily intake.

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins DJ, Wolever TM, Taylor RH, et al. (March 1981). "Glycemic index of foods: a physiological basis for carbohydrate exchange". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 34 (3): 362–6. doi:10.1093/ajcn/34.3.362. PMID   6259925.
  2. 1 2 "About". Guiding Stars Licensing Company. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "France becomes one of the first countries in Region to recommend colour-coded front-of-pack nutrition labelling system". World Health Organization - Europe. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Julia, Chantal; Etilé, Fabrice; Hercberg, Serge (2018). "Front-of-pack Nutri-Score labelling in France: an evidence-based policy". The Lancet Public Health. 3 (4): e164. doi: 10.1016/s2468-2667(18)30009-4 . ISSN   2468-2667. PMID   29483002.
  5. ↑ Santi, Pascale Santi (20 February 2018). "The nutritional logo hits supermarket shelves (Google translate from French)". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Julia, Chantal; Pettigrew, Simone; Hercberg, Serge; Talati, Zenobia; Egnell, Manon (October 2018). "Objective Understanding of Front-of-Package Nutrition Labels: An International Comparative Experimental Study across 12 Countries". Nutrients. 10 (10): 1542. doi: 10.3390/nu10101542 . PMC   6213801 . PMID   30340388.
  7. ↑ "Mipaaf - NutrInform Battery: Firmato il decreto che introduce il logo del modello di etichettatura volontaria italiana. Bellanova: "Poniamo al centro il consumatore e i principi della dieta Mediterranea"" (in Italian). Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  8. ↑ DeAndreis, Paolo (30 October 2020). "Italy Formally Adopts Nutrinform Labeling System". Olive Oil Times . Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "nutripoints.com". nutripoints.com. Retrieved 2013-10-17.
  10. ↑ "Nutripoints: Healthy Eating Made Simple! (1990–2010)". Nutripoints.com.
  11. ↑ "The WeightWatchers behavioral points program". WeightWatchers International, Inc. 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  12. ↑ Drewnowski, Adam (2005). "Concept of a nutritious food: toward a nutrient density score". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 82 (4): 721–32. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/82.4.721 . PMID   16210699.
  13. 1 2 "NuVal Nutritional Scoring System Will Debut in Major U.S. Chains This September". New Hope Network (via PR Newswire and Comtex). 11 July 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  14. 1 2 Elaine Watson (13 November 2017). "Goodbye NuVal… and good riddance?". FoodNavigator-USA.com, William Reed Media Inc. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  15. 1 2 Xiong, Amy (2017-11-03). "Yale researcher's ratings service discontinued". Yale Daily News. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  16. ↑ "Smart Choices Program" . Retrieved Jan 13, 2012.
  17. ↑ MacVean, Mary (2009-09-29). "'Smart Choice' food label: a sign of nutrition or marketing?". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035.
  18. ↑ Neuman, William (2009-10-23). "'Smart Choices' Food Labeling Loses Support". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-08-24.
  19. ↑ Taylor, Michael R.; Jerold R. Mande (August 19, 2009). "Label Claims – Letter to the Smart Choices Program". U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  20. ↑ Hughes, Mike. "Smart Choices Program Postpones Active Operations". PR Newswire. Retrieved Jan 1, 2012.
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