Food
Shelf Tags Give Moms An Easier Way To Find Nutritious Foods
Posted: 9/7/2011
One supermarket chain recently introduced a new shelf tag program called SimpleNutrition that simplifies shopping for nutritious food and can help educate kids about healthy food choices.(NAPSI)—Being in the Information Age sounds like a good thing, but having too much information and not enough time to process it can have the opposite effect, especially if it pertains to grocery shopping. Ingredient and nutrition labels could inspire a book club given how lengthy they’ve gotten, but making sense of the frequently convoluted and contradictory jargon seems to require a science degree, as well. Moms in particular are feeling the backlash.
According to a recent nationwide survey commissioned by Safeway Inc., 41 percent of moms said not having time to read nutrition labels in stores is a challenge they face when trying to make informed nutrition choices. Thirty-six percent of them said they are cautious about the claims made on packaging. This explains why NPD Group, Inc.’s National Eating Trends survey revealed that only 50 percent of Americans frequently check labels to determine if the foods they are buying contain ingredients they are looking to avoid, such as sugar, sodium, and calories from fat.
Given that moms are facing a quandary of knowing the importance of reading food labels yet not having the time to fit this into an already crowded schedule, one supermarket is leading the charge to make this important task easier. Safeway now offers SimpleNutrition, an in-store program featuring green shelf tags that highlight nutrition and ingredient benefits for qualifying products. And it’s not just moms who benefit.
“The SimpleNutrition shelf tag program is designed to not only enable smarter and less-time-intensive trips to the supermarket; it paves the way for the next generation of shoppers,” explains Kerry Neville, Safeway consulting dietitian and personal nutrition coach. “Shelf tags make it easier for moms to involve children in the selection process while educating them about making healthy food choices.”
The benefits included in the program feature two groups of messages: those that meet lifestyle or dietary needs and those that meet specific nutrition or ingredient criteria. For example, Gluten Free, Organic, and Calorie Smart fall under the first category, while statements such as Made with Whole Grains, Fat Free, Sodium Smart, and Sugar Free are among the benefits based on the second group.
Ignorance can be bliss, but not when running a kitchen and feeding a family. So for moms in a hurry, SimpleNutrition shelf tags make it easier to find the right choices for their families. For more information, visit www.Safeway.com/SimpleNutrition. |
