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Title: Food Labels Could Get ?Energy Star?-Like Rating

Description: A new food labeling system proposed in an Institute of Medicine report suggests that a rating symbol on products could help consumers make healthier food choices.

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WASHINGTON ? Similar to how an Energy Star symbol can help consumers make energy-efficient choices about refrigerators and air conditioners, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report last week advising the government that food labels should have a similar rating symbol to help shoppers make healthier choices about the foods and beverages they buy.

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The Washington Post reports that front-of-package label would provide nutritional information ?at a glance? that shows the ?most important information for health? such as calories per serving, the actual size of the serving and contents such as certain fats, sodium and added sugars.

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Experts from the IOM told federal regulators that the ?epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases warrants a single rating system to help consumers sort through nutritional information,? writes the newspaper, adding that the label would be simple enough for kids to use. The institute suggests in its report that current back-of-pack labels are too confusing for consumers.

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?Simply providing information about healthy choices has not consistently translated into changes in dietary behavior,? said Ellen Wartella, head of the panel and a professor of communications, psychology and human development at Northwestern University.

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The Food and Drug Administration, which co-sponsored the study, has supported a front-of-package label since 2009.

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The Grocery Manufacturers Association responded to the IOM?s report, noting that in January, the group along with the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) launched Facts Up Front, a fact-based front of pack nutrition labeling system to help consumers make informed decisions about the products the buy.

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Facts Up Front was developed through extensive consumer testing that showed consumers want fact-based information on calories, saturated fat, sugar and sodium, and where appropriate, nutrients to encourage.�

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GMA notes that IOM?s report adds a perspective to the national dialogue about front-of-pack nutrition labeling, but in the meantime, food and beverage companies have already developed ?a real-world program that delivers real value to real consumers in real time.?

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GMA said ?[C]onsumers have told us that they want simple and easy to use information and that they should be trusted to make decisions for themselves and their families. The most effective programs are those that consumers embrace, and consumers have said repeatedly that they want to make their own judgments, rather than have government tell them what they should and should not eat.�That is the guiding principle of Facts Up Front, and why we have concerns about the untested, interpretive approach suggested by the IOM committee.?

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Content Subject: Marketing/Merchandising

Formatted Article Date: October 24, 2011

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