Smart Choice

Smart Choice Standards

The goal of the Smart Choices Pogram is to provide a simple front-of-the-package icon system to direct consumers to smarter food choices, which will eventually lead to more balanced diet. The Smart Choices Program was developed by a coalition of scientists and nutrition educators, experts with experience with dietary guidelines, public health organizations, and food manufacturers in response to consumer confusion over multiple front-of-the-package systems based on different criteria.

FOOD STANDARDS

Calories

Maximum: 700/meal

Based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet. This is an average calorie range for adults.
While individual calorie needs vary depending on age, activity level, and weight goals, a 2,000 calorie diet is often used as a reference, such as in determining Daily Values (DV) for Nutrition Facts labels¹.
Assuming a person is eating three meals a day, one meal will provide approximately one-third of the day’s calories.

Fat

Dietary fat directly impacts blood cholesterol levels, and therefore impacts cardiovascular health. Since heart disease remains the largest >cause of death in the United States², we feel that Smart Choice items should be, above all, heart-healthy. While there is no clear consensus regarding the exact amount of recommended dietary fat, some aspects of dietary fats are well-documented; these form the basis of our criteria regarding fats, detailed below.

Total Fat: 27 grams/meal

Research has shown that diets providing up to 35% of total calories from fat, as long as most of the fat is unsaturated, can help maintain or improve blood cholesterol levels³; The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends this range of fat as part of its Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes.
27 grams of fat provide 35% of calories in a 700 calorie meal.

Saturated Fat: 6 grams/meal

The American Heart Association recommends that 7% or fewer calories come from saturated fat to decrease cardiovascular disease risk.
6 grams saturated fat provides 7% of calories in a 700 calorie meal.

Trans Fat: 0 grams/meal

The dangers of trans fat are well documented. Trans fats decrease “good” HDL cholesterol and increase “bad” LDL cholesterol in the blood.
Trans fat must now be listed on Nutrition Facts labels⁴, and the US has taken steps to remove trans fats in processed foods.⁵
The federal Institute of Medicine and Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommend “that trans fatty acid consumption be as low as possible.”

Cholesterol: 100 grams/meal

A maximum of 300 mg dietary cholesterol per day is widely recommended for heart health. ,
100 mg is one-third of the 300 mg daily total.

Sodium

770 milligrams/meal maximum

Based on abundant research, many large health organizations and health guidelines (American Heart Association, Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension / DASH) now recommend a maximum of 2300 mg/day sodium to prevent high blood pressure.
People trying to lower blood pressure through dietary changes may need to consume even less sodium, or 1500 mg/day.
770mg is approximately one-third of 2300mg daily total.

Healthful Nutrients and Food Groups

At least 10% Daily Value (a “good source”) of one or more of the following nutrients: Calcium, Potassium, Fiber, Magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E OR One or more servings of the following food groups: fruits, vegetables, or whole grains.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans identifies the listed nutrients and food groups as lacking in the American diet. These nutrients and foods are included in the national Smart Choices program as “nutrients to encourage.”
The Daily Value is calculated by dividing the amount of a nutrient in the food by the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for the nutrient and multiplying by 100%.
We base serving size on the USDA’s interactive eating guide, www.mypyramid.gov, and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 recommendations for a 2,000 calorie diet. Servings in Smart Choice recipes should be:
- Fruits: ½ cup equivalent (1/2 cup fruit, ½ cup 100% juice, ¼ cup dried fruit)
- Vegetables: 1 cup equivalent (1 cup raw or cooked vegetables or juice, or 2 cups leafy raw vegetables)
- Whole grains: 1 ounce equivalent (1 ounce slice bread, 1 cup ready to eat cereal, or ½ cup cooked rice, pasta, or cooked cereal)

Foot Notes

¹ United States Food & Drug Adminstration - The New Nutrition Facts Label. Retreived March 8,202 https://www.fda.gov/media/135197/download
² National Center for Health Statistics (2019). Fast stats A to Z: deaths/mortality. Retrieved March 8, 2021 from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/deaths.htm
³ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015 – 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. Retreived March 8,2021 from https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/2015-2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf
⁴ See 1
⁵United States Food & Drug Adminstration - Trans Fats. Retreived March 8, 2021https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/trans-fat

BEVERAGE STANDARDS

The over consumption of calories from liquid beverages is a contributing factor in obesity and chronic disease in the United States. The Department of Nutrition and Food Services at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center has developed the following criteria

Green: Drink Plenty

Yellow Drink Occasionally

Red: Drink Rarely, if at all

Above 120 calories per 8 fl oz. and/or contain high fructose corn syrup.

Sugar-sweetened beverages include all sodas, fruit drinks, sport drinks, low-calorie drinks and other beverages that contain added caloric sweeteners, such as sweetened tea, rice drinks, bean beverages, sugar cane beverages, horchata and nonalcoholic wines/malt beverages.
- Sodas include all carbonated beverages with added sugar
- Fruit drinks include all fruit drinks, fruit juices and fruit nectars with added sugar
- Sports drinks include all beverages marked for rehydration for athletes
- Other beverages nclude sweetened tea, rice drinks, bean beverages, sugar cane beverages, horchata, nonalcoholic wins/malt beverages, etc.

References

VENDING STANDARDS

Campus Life Services-Retail, in partnership with Canteen Vending, has developed the following Smart Choice standards for items served in vending machines at UCSF:

Food & Snacks

All snacks/foods offered in each vending machine shall meet the following criteria:

Not more than 35% calories from fat with the exception of nuts and seeds; snack mixes and other foods of which nuts are a part must meet the 35% standard.
Not more than 10% calories from saturated fat.
Does not contain trans fats added during processing (hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils)
Not more than 35% total weight from sugar and caloric sweeteners with the exception of fruits and vegetables that have not been processed with added sweeteners and fats.
Not more than 360 mg of sodium per servings

Beverages

All beverages offered in each vending machine shall be one of a combination of the following:

Water with no additives.
100% fruit juices with no added sugars, artificial flavors or colors (limited to a maximum of 12 ounces per container)
Dairy Milk, non-fat, 1% and 2% only (no flavored milks)
Plant derived (i.e. rice, almond, soy, etc.) milks (no flavored milks)
Artificially-sweetened, calorie-reduced beverages that do not exceed 50 calories per 12-ounce container (teas, electrolyte replacements)
Other non-caloric beverages, such as coffee, tea and diet sodas.