This page is designed to provide you--- the health care professional -- with information on the Smart Choices Program and the nutrition criteria that form its foundation. A manuscript detailing the nutrition criteria, the science behind its development and the process by which they were established for the program has been submitted to a peer reviewed scientific journal for publication.

For more information, you can view related sources of consensus nutrition science.

Science-Based Symbol

The Smart Choices symbol will be allowed only on those products that meet specific nutrition criteria derived from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, reports from the Institute of Medicine, and other sources of consensus dietary guidance.

Specific qualifying criteria were developed for 19 different product categories, such as beverages, cereals, meats, dairy, and snacks, based on the presence of nutrients to limit, nutrients to encourage, and food groups to encourage. By developing nutrition criteria for each of these 19 product categories based on consensus dietary guidance, the Smart Choices Program is designed to help guide consumer choices within each of those product categories. All foods must meet criteria for nutrients to limit to qualify for the program; therefore, the presence of nutrients to encourage does not compensate for the presence of nutrients to limit in higher amounts.

The Smart Choices Program is designed to be flexible and adaptable, allowing for revisions to new public policy, dietary guidelines, and emerging consensus science. The program's Science Advisory Committee is responsible for ensuring the program stays current. While using the symbol as a tool to assist consumers in identifying smarter food choices, consumers should keep in mind the role of each food in their overall diet and the importance of calorie-intake, overall nutrition, and regular physical activity.

Fact-Based Calorie Information

A key differentiating factor of the Smart Choices Program is the inclusion of front-of-pack calorie information. Products that qualify for the Smart Choices Program symbol also will display calorie information on the front of the package, disclosing to consumers calories per serving and number of servings per container. The goal is to help people stay within their daily calorie needs and make it easier for calorie comparisons, again guiding food choices within product categories. Public policy consistently recommends that people consume a sound diet within an appropriate daily calorie intake to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

What Are the Nutrition Qualifying Criteria?

Following is a current general summary of the qualifying criteria and rationale for specific variations.

You may also view the current summary of the full nutrition criteria for if and how a product would qualify for use of the Smart Choices Program Symbol, as well as more detail on the variations.

• Nutrients to Limit: These are nutrients that Americans need to eat less of in their diet for better health.

• Nutrients to Encourage: These are the ?nutrients of concern,? that is nutrients lacking in the diet, as identified by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
  

• Food Groups to Encourage: These are groups of foods, rather than individual nutrients, that are recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
  

Product Categories

The Smart Choices Program includes 19 product categories that must meet the general qualifying criteria of nutrients to limit and nutrients or food groups to encourage. These were determined by the coalition by looking closely at the types of foods in the marketplace today, how they are consumed, how choices are made in the store and how they are categorized into food groups with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Code of Federal Regulations also was consulted. Each category was then evaluated to fine-tune the criteria so that it was in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other sources of nutrition science and authoritative guidance.

Calorie Criteria for the Smart Choices Program

The coalition needed to evaluate the standards for calories. Currently there is no authoritative, scientific standard for calorie threshold. Based on 2,000 calorie diet, calorie levels were set for meals, sauces, snacks, desserts and beverages.

A calorie threshold was determined not applicable for fruits and vegetables (with additives), 100% juices, breads, grains, pasta, cereals, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, meat alternatives, seeds, nuts, milk/dairy, cheeses, fats, oils, soups and sauces.

Food-Specific Variations

For a few select foods and beverages within a particular category, there were food-specific variations from the general benchmarks that were established.

The coalition identified the following rationale for identifying different nutrition standards for specific foods and beverages.

The coalition's objective was to set standards that include those oils and foods that have a balance of fatty acids consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, while excluding those that are not. Notably, fatty fish were given a slightly different set of criteria in order to allow for and encourage consumption of healthy fats, including DHA and EPA.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans limit saturated fat intake to no more than 10% of total calories. The ratio of the dietary saturated fat guideline to the total fat guideline can be used to establish a fat quality index (10% saturated fat/35% total fat = 28% of fat as saturated fat). In turn, this index was used to help set the criteria for the Smart Choices Program.

While there is currently no FDA standard, it is recommended that trans fat intake be kept as low as possible. Consistent with FDA labeling guidelines, the Smart Choices Program excludes naturally occurring trans fats sometimes found in cheeses, milk, dairy, meat, fish, and poultry.

For cholesterol, the Smart Choices Program is consistent with the FDA standard for "healthy" and the USDA standard for "extra lean" in the case of meat, fish and poultry.

Within the FDA "healthy" criteria, it is recognized that some food and food categories may require different standards for sodium levels. In addition to the FDA "healthy" criteria for sodium, the coalition also reviewed the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Institute of Medicine's Dietary Reference Intake report for water, potassium, sodium, chloride and sulfate when considering sodium levels.

Although the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recognizes the importance of limiting added sugars, there is no FDA standard for this component. The Dietary Guidelines also pointed out that, in some cases, small amounts of sugars added to nutrient-dense foods, such as breakfast cereals and reduced-fat milk products, may increase a person's intake of such foods by enhancing the palatability of these products, thus improving nutrient intake without contributing excessive calories. A consensus-based approach was used to arrive at the criteria for added sugars; however, this criteria will be re-evaluated as new guidance and consensus science emerges.

When considered on a meal basis:

• The World Health Organization (2003) allows for 10% of calories from "added sugars," which based on a 2,000 calorie diet is 200 calories/day
• Based on four eating occasions per day (200 calories/4 eating occasions = 50 calories/eating occasion)
• Grams per eating occasion equate to 50 calories/4 = 12.5 g, rounded to 12 g