New logo enables Dutch to choose consciously
this week, thanks to a new initiative that allows products
conforming to certain nutritional standards to bear a special logo
on their packaging.
The logo, which reads "Ik Kies Bewust" (I Choose Consciously), was developed by food companies Campina, Friesland Foods and Unilever in response to an appeal from the World Health Organisation and the Dutch ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport to make it clearer to consumers what good foods are.
It is supported by the Dutch Nutrition Centre, and supermarket and catering organisations have also signalled that they are on board.
Manufacturers will have the right to use the logo on all products, including snack foods, that contain limited amounts of saturated fats, trans fats, sugar and salt, with the precise standards derived from international nutritional recommendations, including the WHO's. They must also fall into the Dutch Nutrition Centre's top two categories for nutritional value.
A special foundation has been set up to expand the assessment system in collaboration with food scientists, to take into account essential foodstuffs. Dubbed The I Choose Consciously Foundation, it will also ensure that the latest scientific information is employed in devising criteria on which products assessments are based, and that the logo is applied as intended.
The logo has been unveiled just one week after a major report from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment declared that addressing unhealthy diets would have a major impact on public health.
