Tags to Inform Food Shoppers of Nutritional Value
Meijer is a regional grocery store with 190 stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. Founded in Greenville, Michigan in 1934 by Hendrik Meijer, it has grown into a corporate entity that rivals Walmart in the sense that it's open 24/7, 364 days a year, selling everything from groceries to patio furniture at very competitive prices.
So what's new at Meijer? This chain grocery is using a nutritional scoring label that rates food items from 1, signifying little nutritional value, to 100, the highest nutritional score.
Named the NuVal, short for nutritional value, the ranking system uses a variety of information to formulate the number. It takes into account more than 30 nutrients, fiber, trans fats, sugar content, sodium, and vitamins.
This system was developed by nutrition and public health experts.
Meijer isn't the only grocery store to adopt the NuVal food scoring system; Hy-Vee with stores in the Midwest and Price Choppers with stores on the East Coast have adopted the system as well. Grocers pay a licensing fee to Massachusetts-based NuVal to use the service.
Meijer increased the number of foods that were given scores in April and plans to have the entire selection of grocery items scored by the end of the year.
The chain also has nutritionists on staff that offer learning programs in-store and online to its customers, in addition to more clinical services being offered to consumers through the chain's pharmacists.
Not willing to be left behind with a less competitive edge, Kroger is now testing the NuVal system in its Kentucky stores.
The trial run is part of Kroger's emphasis on wellness. This chain has expanded its Nature's Market line of natural and organic foods, and it has added more information on which foods are gluten-free, to increase the option for those who suffer from celiac disease or who are gluten sensitive.
Yet another grocery chain, Giant Eagle, is looking into NuVal even as it employs a staff of dietitians that travel throughout its stores to offer personalized nutritional counseling and group classes to its customers. More and more consumers are realizing that the obesity epidemic and the rise of pediatric obesity is an urgent problem that they need to either prevent by making wise food choices or address by being proactively involved in finding a solution.
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