Walmart To Tag Foods As "Great for You"

Walmart is planning to tag its own house brand with an extra symbol – it will be green and white and read “Great for You”. This symbol will depict a person with outstretched arms. The wording echoes Walmart’s own house brand called “Great Value”.

With this latest step Wal-mart continues its campaign started in January 2011 to help promote healthier eating and fight childhood obesity. However this icon will impart no extra nutritional information – it is just there to help the consumer make informed choices. Walmart says this seal will be affixed only to products low in fat (less than 35% of the total calories), sugar (no more than 25% of total calories) and artificial additives. Only 20-25% of Walmart’s products will carry the symbol.

From Walmart’s web site: “Items with the “Great For You” icon must meet rigorous nutrition criteria informed by the latest nutrition science and authoritative guidance from the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Institute of Medicine (IOM). Developed in consultation with food and nutrition experts from the public and private sectors, as well as leading health organizations, the icon represents a collaborative and transparent effort to develop a trusted and reliable system for consumers.”

This seal will also appear near the displays of fresh fruits and vegetables, and on some of Walmart’s Marketside brand too.

Walmart has set up a website www.walmartgreatforyou.com which explains the criteria for a food to have this icon on its packaging. It also gives you access to a list of their products that carry the “Great for You” seal.

How important is this for you? Will this seal influence your choices when food shopping at Walmart? Should other food markets follow suit?

Read our article on Supermarkets Hire Professionals to Provide a Nutrition Score to Groceries.

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