Do food label rating systems work for you?

USNEWS.com posted a very thorough and well researched article on food label rating systems prompted by the release of a new rating system – Smart Choices.  Click here to view the article in full.

I made a comment stating my point of view which is posted below.

What do you think of food rating systems?  Do you find them useful?  Do they work for you?  Tell us which system you have in your local grocery store?

¨I would like to add another point to the duscussion that I feel is missing; are rating systems, as a group, the best and only solution for simplifying label data?.

Most rating systems do a great job at presenting and simplifying certain label information but are somewhat limited in that they only represent a particular aspect of the label data and do not consider the consumers specific needs. In this day and age of dietary choice everyone has their own unique specific needs and in a single family there can be several specific needs. But as a first step in the right direction label rating systems generally perform.

I believe that the future of food label comparison lies in a customized system that helps to find foods that suit one’s specific dietary needs. At FoodEssentials.com, we work with retailers to provide their customers with the ability to instantly compare food labels by any ingredient, additive, allergen, or nutrient condition.

The first generation of our tools help users to search and compare food labels, but future tools will aim to further simplify the label reading process – automatically matching products to one’s specific dietary profile.

The key here is that it is important to have many different solutions competing to help the consumer. The more competition, the more quickly we will arrive at a balanced and sustainable solution that best reflects the needs of the consumer.

Label rating solutions are a great first step, but I believe the future in this space lies in customized & personal solutions.

Anton Xavier

FoodEssentials.com¨

Possibly Related Posts:

• The next target for the food conscious community
• Smart Choices RIP
• Nutrition Rating Systems – the problem and a solution
• FDA to study barriers to food label use
• Reading Food Labels for Better Nutrition