Choices International Foundation

What is Choices?

The Choices programme is a world-wide initiative set up to make the healthy choice the easy choice. It has introduced a simple front-of-pack stamp on food products that have passed an evaluation against a set of qualifying criteria based on international dietary guidelines. Those criteria are periodically reviewed by an independent international scientific committee made up of leading scientists.

The Choices stamp is:
Simple – One stamp for many products, easily recognisable.
Credible – The qualifying criteria have been developed by independent, leading scientists.
Open – Any food, retail or catering company can participate.
International – A global initiative, applicable for all food products and beverages.

Currently around 130 companies participate globally, bringing over 3000 products with a Choices stamp on the market in all categories of food and beverages. These numbers continue to grow.

Objective

The Choices programme has two key objectives:

To help consumers quickly identify healthy options at the moment of purchase.
To encourage food industries to improve the composition of their products, thus increasing the availability of healthy foods and beverages and meeting consumer demand.

‘Choices’ is based on research showing that consumers prefer healthy food but find it difficult to make informed choices. Lacking straightforward and reliable information, many of them are confused about which products really are the healthy choice. A simple communication tool such as the Choices stamp can instantly clear up the confusion.

Importantly, the Choices programme is open to all food manufacturers, retailers and caterers, counteracting the proliferation of health logos and labels that only further confuse consumers.

The Choices programme aims for an active role in tackling the global trend in growing rates of obesity and diet-related diseases, as has been called for by the World Health Organisation^[1] .

Choices International Foundation

The objective of the Choices International Foundation is to facilitate global introduction of the Choices stamp across food manufacturers, retailers and food services while maintaining the integrity of the programme. It is established by food multinationals FrieslandCampina and Unilever. At national levels, many more companies participate.

The Choices Stamp is now visible in around 50 countries. Over 130 different companies, large and small, from industry, catering and retail, participate. Over 3000 products have been assigned the Choices Stamp of which 600 are fresh fruits and vegetables. The stamp uses local languages to send the message of a healthy/easy choice. In Brazil, fro example, it says “Minha Escolha”. Other examples include “Bewusst Wählen” (Germany), “Ik Kies Bewust” (The Netherlands) and “Vim co Jim” (Czech Republic).

The programme is being expanded to more countries. In all those countries, national governance structures seek the endorsement of local authorities, non-governmental organisations and civic society.

Advantages

The Choices programme firmly believes that it will be able to contribute significantly to global health. It has many strong points:

One international system with high credibility that is easy to understand.
One simple and positive stamp, enabling quick consumer decisions.
No confusion because there is no need for different stamps for different products or producers.
An incentive for behavioural change by positively changing perception and usage intention of food products.
A design that complements nutritional labels.

^[1] Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases, 2003.