Choices Programme Methodology Published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Launched in The Netherlands in 2006, the Choices Programme relies on the use of an easily recognised front-of-pack logo that allows consumers to quickly identify products with a better nutrient composition.

6/24/2011 --- The underlying methodology for the international product criteria of the Choices Programme has been published in the peer-reviewed European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This makes the Choices Programme the first objectively established and peer-reviewed nutrient profile system, based on the WHO dietary recommendations on daily intake.

Launched in The Netherlands in 2006, the Choices Programme relies on the use of an easily recognised front-of-pack logo that allows consumers to quickly identify products with a better nutrient composition. This system effectively enables the healthy choice to be the easy choice. Toward the end of 2009, the Choices Scientific Committee – currently composed of 17 scientists, of which several have contributed to the WHO strategy on health - developed a set of international criteria for nutrition labelling. The criteria were derived from WHO dietary guidelines for key nutrients, including saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and added sugar, as well as energy and dietary fibre, and translated into generic and food category-specific product criteria. By selecting a typical daily menu that is Choices-compliant, one can ensure that the intake of these key nutrients is in line with WHO dietary guidelines.

The publication of the methodology used to develop these criteria within the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition marks an important achievement for the Choices initiative. Indeed, as Professor Jaap Seidell, Professor at the Free University in Amsterdam and chair of the Choices Scientific Committee says “having an approach that is not only relevant and practical for both consumers and food industry, but that has now also been officially recognised as scientifically sound is an accomplishment that we can be very proud of”. It provides the Choices initiative with the additional scientific credibility to achieve even greater international attention and recognition.

Since its inception, the Choices Programme has rapidly grown at an international level. With more than 130 partners in food manufacturing, retail and catering, the Programme is now present in several countries around the world, and the logo can be found on approximately 7,000 products. In the near future, the Programme will extend its reach to India and several more countries in South America, thereby helping an increasing number of the world’s population to fight against obesity and diet-related health problems.

AJC Roodenburg, BM Popkin, JC Seidell. Development of international criteria for a front of package food labelling system: the International Choices Programme. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, advance online publication 22 June 2011; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.101