Shop Smart with New Food Ranking
Week of November 3, 2008
These and other food "points" come from NuVal—a nutritional scoring system debuting in chain markets like Price Chopper and Hy-Vee this fall. Ranking produce, meats, breads, and packaged foods on a scale of 1 to 100, NuVal’s nutritionists give top scores to high-nutrient, low-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables, and lower scores to calorie-dense meats, cheese, and snack foods. Filling your cart with foods that rank in the 80s and 90s—and minimizing those with lower points—ensures you bring home foods that are largely in line with the USDA food pyramid guidelines.
By September 2009, the company—a joint venture between a Yale University-affiliated research hospital and a marketing firm called Topco—expects to have a presence in most grocery chains across the U.S., ranking all 40,000 of the products available at the average supermarket with its distinctive double-hexagon emblem.
The NuVal grading system is the result of a complex nutritional analysis algorithm that compares the levels of healthy nutrients in a food (like fiber, vitamins, essential minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and quality carbohydrates) with those that are less desirable (saturated fat, sodium, sugar, and cholesterol), then factors in calorie-density to assign a food’s overall point value.
Talk to Us: Have you seen the NuVal system at your grocery store? What do you think of it? Is it more useful than the food pyramid or the glycemic index? Does it help you choose healthier foods?
Your Comments:
I haven't seen the system in my grocery store, but I will be looking for it. I'm not sure why, but giving food point values and trying to go for 100 seems be a powerful motivation to eat right—maybe it's all those years trying to get good grades in school!
-- Marie Edison
Your Comments:
I have not noticed NuVal grading system in my grocery store. But I'm very interested and will look carefully at my next trip the grocery store. This sounds like a great idea. I think it will help save time and let people get a quick idea of what's healthy or not. Right now, I have to pick up a box of something, analyze the nutritional values on the side of box, and compute whether it is healthy or not. I can't wait to see NuVal implemented!!
-- Tina
Your Comments:
I have not seen it any where in my local region but think the idea sounds awesome!
-- Jami Janofski
Your Comments:
I have also never seen this system anywhere, but I think it would be especially good for processed and packaged food.
-- Katie
Your Comments:
I think the key here is to limit the processed and packaged foods. They are not very healthy.
-- kbcrazy
Your Comments:
This sounds like an interesting and easy way to classify foods. I think most people know which foods are good for them, but maybe seeing many foods with a score of 20 in their shopping cart will wake some people up.
-- Barry Kottler
