By: Fran Seligson, PhD, RD Date: 11/2/11
On October 20, 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report titled, “Front-of Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols: Promoting Healthier Food Choices.” I was honored to have participated in the committee and an almost two-year process that produced the report. The committee was tasked to consider the potential benefits of a single standardized front-label food guidance system regulated by FDA, assessment of which icons are most effective with consumer audiences, and development of conclusions about the systems and icons that best promote health and how to maximize their use. The report recommends that FDA and USDA should develop, test, and implement a single, standard front-of package system to appear on all products. Among other characteristics the system should display calories in common household measure serving sizes and zero to three nutritional points, one each for saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars.
Background on the IOM Committee
IOM committees are constituted to provide a broad array of expertise and viewpoints. Each committee member provides something unique to the deliberations and final outcome. My contribution came from 30-plus years of working in or with the food industry as both a nutrition scientist and registered dietitian with extensive experience in managing scientific and regulatory issues. Living through the process of developing and implementing regulations for the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 gave me hands-on knowledge of the complex intricacies of product formulas and regulatory criteria for nutrient content claims. The five other “nutrition experts” on the committee brought experience in public health, nutrition policy, nutrition science, and labeling regulations. The six “consumer experts” contributed to our understanding of how consumers from diverse life situations process (or not) complex information (such as what is in the Nutrition Facts panel) in a cluttered environment (such as all other information on food labels and the many competing products on grocery shelves) and busy lifestyles. One of my objectives throughout the process was to ensure we were aware of the strengths, limitations, and implications related to developing criteria for various types of front-of-packages systems.
Committee Outcomes
The committee identified three outcomes that an effective front-of package system should produce.
The system must:
1) Encourage consumers to make healthier choices at the point-of purchase,
2) Encourage food and beverage companies to provide and promote healthier offerings, and
3) Encourage retailers to highlight those healthier offerings.
To do this, the committee recognized that nutritional criteria need to balance restrictiveness with practicality. Overly restrictive criteria could stymie product reformulation and new product development. The committee also considered how recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and foods that have been determined based on their nutritional value to be eligible for use in federal food programs such as the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would compare against various criteria. Additionally, criteria should be aligned with regulations for nutrition and ingredient labeling and nutrient content and health claims. An assessment of a convenience sample of 95 foods and beverages revealed that regulatory criteria for “low saturated fat” and “low sodium” claims were too stringent for many foods recommended by the Dietary Guidelines and/or are WIC eligible. Accordingly the committee suggested that FDA consider a more moderate criterion for saturated fat as well as the sodium criteria for a “healthy” claim for a front-of-package symbol system.
Development of the recommended system requires extensive computer modeling for food and beverage products against potential nutritional criteria to ensure that products earn nutritional points appropriately. Current regulations will require modifications and/or exemptions, and new regulations will need to be developed. As with all regulatory actions, public input needs to be solicited on a front-of package symbol system and its nutritional criteria. The recommended system also requires consumer testing to determine the most effective graphic representation. While much work lays ahead, the committee’s recommendations provide a solid foundation for creating a front-of-package symbol system that offers guidance for selecting food and beverage products based on their amount of calories per household measure serving size, saturated and trans fats, sodium, and added sugars.
Fran Seligson is retired from The Hershey Company and currently a consultant on food and nutrition issues.