Supermarkets now using Guiding Stars to lead you to healthy foods
Posted December 15th, 2006 at 2:30 PM by Jenna Sumara
Section: Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Health & Fitness, Weight Loss
Every day it seems we are bombarded with some new nutritional guideline to follow. One week anything with a carb is feared; the next week its low sodium only. So how can you decide what type of food is nutritious enough to buy on your trip to super market?
Well . . if you live in New England, just follow the stars!
Hannaford Brothers, a N.E. food chain, has created a system they call Guiding Stars that claims to help you make those decisions. Needless to say, this has many people in the food industry up in arms. This new system rates the nutritional values for food and drinks sold at its stores from zero to three stars. The ratings might surprise you.
For example take whole milk, it has too much fat so it has a lower rating. Then there is V8 vegetable juice, Campbell’s Healthy Request Tomato soup, most Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice frozen dinners that are thought to be healthy, but rated poorly because of the very high levels of sodium. Nearly all yogurts with artificial fruit also received low ratings because they have too much sugar. On the other hand, most fruits and vegetables earned three stars.
What is really healthy? Are these standards valid? Are the standards created and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration accurate, or is the Guiding Star program more in tune to what we should be following? There are arguments on both sides.
The Guiding Star program, introduced in September, asks the grocery store to judge the types of products it is trying to sell, the specific brand or manufacturer. The scale that they use in determining the star ratings is to the right.
Ironically most of Hannaford’s own store-branded products did not get stars. The chain claims it’s not trying to “be preachy or to issue a yes-or-no checklist, just to offer guidance to shoppers who want it” and that there is a place in every diet for no-star items.
Caren Epstein, a Hannaford spokeswoman, said:
“We are saying there are no bad foods. This is a good, better and best system. Food manufacturers were apprehensive at first but relaxed when they learned that neither they nor their products would be penalized. The people who represented salty snacks and cookies understood that they weren’t going to get any stars.”
Shoppers seem to be pleased with the rating system. They like that the ratings show how the claims made on packages might be misleading. What one product claims as good might actually (according to the system) be bad for you. There are the obvious bad foods, but it’s the unexpected ones, like pre-packaged meals that are marketed as being “healthy” that surprise consumers the most.
It should come as no surprise that the food industry, contrary to what Ms. Esptein said, is unhappy with the rating system. John Faulkner, director of brand communication at the Campbell Soup Company, said:
“We don’t like the idea that there are good and bad foods out there, and these sorts of arbitrary rating systems” . . . The Healthy Request line of soup was” aligned with the government definition of what healthy is.”
In order for the F.D.A. to claim a food is healthy it must meet specific guidelines. In cases where the FDA and the Hannaford Brothers disagree there can be a question of who to follow. Faulkner said:
‘’You end up with a lot of consumer confusion . . . ‘Do you defer to the Hannaford Brothers? The federal government?'’
If the public starts putting trust in an independent system that has no government approved guidelines, there can be no control over the ratings and the outcomes. Who is to say that the Hannaford grocery store line isn’t looking out for its own interests as opposed to the interests of the public?
However, what is clear is that mere FDA warnings are insufficient. The Hannaford Brothers’ Guiding Star program does highlight, and is correct in doing so, that many foods that people to perceive as “healthy”, are really not. The bottom line is that prepackaged and processed foods are not the way to go, although some are healthier than others, but can be at least a satisfactory choice if you’re short on time. Otherwise, starting with raw foods and making homecooked meals with vegetables (esp. dark green veggies like spinach), lean proteins (i.e - chicken, fish), complex carbs (i.e. - brown rice, sweet potatoes), fruit and essential fatty acids (omega 3 and 6) will always be the healthier option.
The Guiding Star program does have some good fundamental values, but at the same time, there is a lack of real accountability. However, the advisory panel who creates the ratings is made up of an incredible array of Ivy League and leading PhD’s. Guiding Stars does seem, at the very least, to be a good start that can be helpful to families. It also clearly exemplifies the need for better guidelines and more stringent food-label regulation by the FDA.
***Note: We encourage EVERYONE to see a doctor before altering their diet, taking a supplement and/or performing athletic, fitness or other strenuous physical activity. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, instruction, opinion or advice contained in the content. Please also see our complete disclaimer.***
Tags: campbell soup, FDA, food and drug administration, food chain, food ratings, government, groceries, grocery store, guiding stars, Hannaford Brothers, new england, nutrition, nutrition labels, regulation, sodium, sugar
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