In an attempt to improve public health, a group of scientists, dieticians, food makers and retailers have created a nutrition labelling system called the Smart Choices Program (TM). The labels, featuring the symbol of the program and other information such as calories per serving and number of servings, will likely be on products from food and beverage companies like Kraft Foods Inc., General Mills Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kellogg Company (US), Unilever (US) and Wal-Mart starting next year.

The goal of the new Smart Choices Program is to help people make better eating choices and improve public health. The Smart Choice program includes a green checkmark and a label for food that meet the nutritional requirements within specific product categories. The label will also include calorie information that identifies calories per serving and servings per container on front-of-pack. The goal is to help people stay within their daily calorie needs.

The group of scientists and dieticians relied on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, FDA standards and reports from the Institute of Medicine and other health groups.

To meet the guidelines, products can’t exceed standards for items like total fat, saturated fat, added sugars or sodium. Specific qualifying criteria were developed for 18 different product categories, such as beverages, cereals, meats, dairy and snacks. The list also includes “food groups to encourage” such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or fat-free dairy, “nutrients to encourage” – calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E – and “nutrients to limit” such as total fat, trans fat, cholesterol, added sugar and sodium.

The Smart Choices Program symbol and calorie information will begin appearing on packages in mid-2009.