Truth be told, I can be a little obsessive about reading nutrition labels while shopping. If you're a label reader too, you'll be happy to know that new nutrition labels will be added to products, so you can compare different food choices easily and (hopefully) opt for healthier alternative.
Called the Overall Nutritional Quality Index (ONQI), the new system basically rates food and assigns numbers from 1 to 100. It will also note negative aspects of food like high saturated fat or cholesterol, and will also show positives like high fiber and low sugar.
Topco Associates LLC, a grocery distribution and services cooperative, is introducing this new nutritional label system. Topco is owned by a number of different stores including Wegmans, IGA, Hy-Vee, and Food City, so you can expect to see these labels in those stores first. The new labels should be hitting stores across the US in the second half of 2008. Manufacturers aren't required to put the new labels on their products, but grocery stores can choose to display the new labels next to the price if they want to. I sure hope they do!
Do you read the nutritional labels before you buy your food? Do you think this new system will change the way you shop?
Bunny Hug
i try not to buy a lot of packaged food and i also already know a lot about nutrition, so i don't think these labels will mean much for me. if i decide to buy a box of junky, sugary cereal to snack on, i already know that it's bad for me.
further, i think there has been a general movement in america over the last couple of years to educate people about what's healthy and what isn't. people know what they should and shouldn't eat. i think more than anything, people need to learn to pay more attention to calories. if you buy a container of nuts or a box of quaker oats cereal, the labels will say these foods have a high nutrition quality, and a lot of people will take that as a license to simply eat MORE of these foods. regarding nutritional education in america, the push always seems to be to eat MORE healthy things, when really people need to learn to control the amounts of everything they eat.
1Hy-vee, sweet! I'm an obsessive nutritional label checker too.. can't wait to see these babies
2I don't any products that wouldn't want to include the new labels, but I hope the stores i shop at put them next to teh prices!!! But I think this is a great idea.
3I just don't trust any entity that's going to rate packaged food. How many foods have 'healthy check marks' and 'heart healthy whatevers'...then it turns out that, although they may contain some fiber, they've got tons of sugar or are made with hydrogenated fats (transfat).
Call me conspiracy theorist, but I don't think there's much that happens in the food industry that doesn't relate to marketing!
4This is great!
5like nikity, i am super skeptical about this. it's a great idea, but what's in it for them? sorry, but companies have more motive than 'that sure would be nice thing to do for people.'
6I like to read nutrition labels, so more info is welcome!
7i wish they would have changed the labels to include whether or not the food is vegetarian - especially since natural flavors can be animal derived. i don't need these ratings - i can decide that for myself, but veg friendly food was so nice when i was in the UK, why can't we do that!!!???
8I read the labels about 75% of the time. If I'm buying junk food, I don't read them beyond the calories per serving and how big a serving is because I know they have stuff that isn't good for me.
9But with other stuff, I do, and I'll be glad to see more info.
wow thanks for the heads up!
10i think its already pretty obvious which foods aren't good for us... but some people still need that reality check of labels.
11I read labels obsessively, however thats to check for gluten! So the new labels don't appear to change anything there. I'm sure they'll make it to canada eventually though
Wegmans! Sweet! I have to read the labels...or bad things. Not to mention this will help take away the excuse that some people use, saying it takes to much effort!
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