Healthy living

How can Choices help improve your diet?

We all know that good eating habits are important for your health. Besides the usual guidelines –
eating regular meals, getting enough fruit and vegetables, limiting treats – it is also important to
choose products that contain adequate vitamins, minerals, protein, and fibre and not too much
saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt.

But with all of the different options available in supermarkets and cafeterias, it can sometimes be
challenging to know which ones are healthy choices. That’s where the Choices stamp comes in. It
is found on foods and beverages that meet specific product nutrition criteria, so you can be sure
that you are making a healthy choice within a food category.

Researchers in The Netherlands found that if consumers consistently select products that comply
with the Choices criteria, they would have nutrient intakes that are more aligned with international
dietary guidelines, compared to those following a typical diet. Their intake of beneficial nutrients
would increase, while their intake of nutrients that should be limited would decrease.

When you see the stamp, you will know right away that the product is a healthy choice.

Which products carry the stamp?

To earn a Choices stamp, products cannot exceed specified levels of salt, saturated fat, trans fat
and/or added sugars than comparable products, and depending on the category, they are
required to contain certain amounts of beneficial nutrients, such as fibre.

All food products and beverages – with the exception of alcoholic beverages, infant food (<1
year-old), supplements and food products prescribed under medical supervision – can carry the
Choices stamp if they comply with theproduct criteria.

These product criteria were developed and are periodically evaluated by the Choices
International Scientific Committee. An independent certifying agency then assesses whether
individual products may carry the stamp.

Lifestyle tips
Healthy living is not just about good nutrition. Exercise should also be on the daily menu. See
below for 10 pieces of advice towards a healthy lifestyle.

1. Add variety
Tired of the same old thing for dinner? By adding variety and trying new things you’ll not only
make eating more enjoyable, but it will also help ensure that your body will get the nutrients it
needs.
2. Choose whole grains
When choosing breads, pastas and crackers, choose the whole grain variety whenever possible.
And try making the switch from white rice to brown rice.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables

Try to include fruits or vegetables at every eating occasion. Adding a few slices of tomato to your
whole grain bread at breakfast, a bowl of cut fruit at lunch, sliced cucumbers, celery or carrots as
an afternoon snack, or a glass of 100% juice with dinner are just a few ways to boost your intake.

4. Exercise to maintain a healthy weight

Maintaining a healthy weight reduces your risk of chronic diseases. Aim for daily physical
exercise to balance the energy you consume with the energy you burn.

5. Limit salt intake

Put away the salt shaker – instead reach for ingredients like herbs and spices and lemon or lime
juice to add flavour to foods you eat at home.

6. Limit saturated fat intake

Make the switch to healthful fats: use liquid margarine or plant oils for cooking or choose semi-
skimmed milk instead of whole milk.

7. Eat often, but modest!

Eating regularly, by choosing small frequent meals or healthy between-meal snacks can help
keep your appetite in check and help prevent over-eating.

8. Drink plenty, be moderate with alcohol

Drink at least 1.5 litres of water, tea or other low energy beverages every day, but limit alcoholic
beverages to two per day, and best not every day.

9. Handle food safely and hygienically

Check the shelf life date on food packages and carefully refrigerate perishables and leftovers and
discard them after a few days if unused. Frequently wash hands and kitchen tools to avoid cross-
contamination between raw meats/poultry/fish and other foods.

10. Look at the labels

Take a closer look at the nutrition information and ingredients list on food packages to become
more familiar with what is in your foods and drinks.

About the Choices programme

What is Choices?

The Choices Programme is a world-wide initiative developed to make the healthy choice the easy
choice. You can find a front-of-pack stamp on food products that have passed an evaluation
against a set of product criteria based on international dietary guidelines. Those criteria are
periodically reviewed by an independent International Scientific Committee made up of leading
scientists.
As a response to a food industry call to action by the World Health Organization, the Choices
Programme aims to take on an active role in tackling the growing problem of rising rates of
obesity and diet-related diseases around the world.

The Choices stamp is:

• Credible – With transparent nutrition criteria developed by leading, independent

scientists
• Effective – Research demonstrates that Choices may help consumers improve their
nutrient intakes
• Recognisable – A single stamp found on a variety of food products and beverages,
making the healthy choice easy to distinguish
• International – A global initiative, open to any manufacturing, retail or catering company.

Product criteria
The product nutrition criteria used for the Choices stamp are established by an
independent International Scientific Committee (ISC) comprising 17 well-respected independent
food and nutrition scientists from 15 countries. The Committee independently applies the latest
scientific research, thereby safeguarding the credibility and reliability of the criteria.

Principles
The product criteria are used to evaluate food products based on their nutritional composition.
The criteria are firmly grounded in four key principles:

• Based on sound, scientific evidence.

• Applicable to all foods and beverages.
• Practical to implement.
 • Globally applicable.
Some products are excluded from evaluation: alcoholic beverages, supplements, food products
prescribed under medical supervision, and infant food (<1 year-old).

Download the product criteria (pdf).

Minor deviations are possible on the regional and/or national level in Europe, due to specific diets
and regulations in force. The national foundation will provide you with the exact criteria in force in
your country. You may find a list of all Choices national foundations on the left side of this page.

In other regions as Europe, where diets are more diverse and daily meals composed of different
basic ingredients, the latest product criteria are reviewed by a special committee of local
scientists who will establish deviations, as well as new product groups if need be. The criteria are
currently being re-drafted in India to fit the regional diets, and we expect the Choices programme
to be launched very soon in this country and later on to further expand to Asia.
A review process for Israel is also taking place at the moment.

Product nutrition criteria

Product criteria are set for four key nutrients (trans fat, fat, sugar and sodium), based on
international dietary guidelines from the World Health Organization. The aim of these criteria is:

• To limit the intake of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium (salt) and added sugar; i.e. nutrients
that have been demonstrated to negatively impact human health when consumed in high
amounts.
• To ensure the intake of beneficial nutrients, such as dietary fibre.
• To promote an appropriate energy intake.
Review process

In order to further stimulate product innovation and reformulation, the criteria are reviewed by the
International Scientific Committee periodically, taking into account the latest developments in
nutritional science and the market.

More information on the product criteria

Generic criteria were first established (see below) from which specific criteria were then derived
for various product groups. The generic criteria are somewhat less stringent than
recommendations for total daily intake because diets consist of many food products, not all of
which contain saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, or added sugar. Ultimately, the total daily intake of
food products should be in line with recommendations of (inter)national dietary authorities.

Nutrient WHO dietary recommendations Generic criteria

Saturated fat 10 en% 13 en% or 1.1 g/100g
Trans fat 1 en% 1.3 en% or 0.1 g/100g
Sodium 1.2 mg/kcal1 1.3 mg/kcal
Added sugar 10 en% 13 en% or 2.5g/100g
2
Dietary fibre 1.3 g/100 kcal 1.3 g/100 kcal
1
Based on 2.4 g/day, calculated from the energy recommendation for women = 2000 kcal/d.

2
Based on 25 g/day, calculated from the energy recommendation for women = 2000 kcal/d.
Participants
Currently the Choices stamp is found on approximately 7000 food and beverage products in all
categories, from more than 120 companies, on nearly every continent. These numbers continue
to grow, making Choices a truly global programme.

The Choices Programme is open to all sectors of the food industry. From manufacturers to
caterers to retailers, all companies, large or small, can participate. The inclusive nature of the
Programme increases the visibility of the stamp, making it more recognisable and useful for
consumers around the world.

Participation to the Choices Programme is regulated at the national level, through the
establishment of a national foundation, which assists with guidelines, tools and materials tailored
to the country’s language and culture.