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The Eat Smart™ – Drink Smart™ logos will soon be seen on food and drink packs in the US. But what do they mean?
The new Eat Smart™ & Drink Smart™ logos
Why are you launching the Unilever Eat Smart™ & Drink Smart™ logos?
We want to make it easier for you to select the 'good for you' products in the Unilever portfolio, to enjoy as part of a nutritionally balanced diet. That's why we have developed the Eat Smart™ and Drink Smart™ logos. They make it easier for you to find the smarter foods or beverages when shopping. Our front-of-pack logo gives you a quick, simple way to identify foods and drinks that can help consumers stay in line with U.S. Dietary Guidelines for trans fats, saturated fats, sugars and sodium (salt) and cholesterol.
What does the logo look like?
The logos are easy to see and understand. It's a blue circle featuring a big blue tick with a golden sun rising over it – the ultimate symbol of vitality. It says Eat Smart™' or 'Drink Smart™' in bold letters with the assurance that it is 'Based on U.S. Dietary Guidelines'. The back of pack explains what the logo means and has further nutritional information and references to further information.
Why do you use the U.S. Dietary guidelines as the criteria for the logo?
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines are designed to help Americans choose diets that will promote health and wellness. Our Eat Smart™ and Drink Smart™ logos help consumers quickly and easily identify products which meet Unilever established criteria based on those guidelines.
What are U.S. Dietary Guidelines?
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide science-based recommendations to promote health and reduce risk for major chronic diseases through diet and physical activity. Developed by a panel of nutrition experts, the recommendations are targeted to the general public age 2 years and older, and based on current scientific and medical knowledge. The Guidelines are issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The most recent edition of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines was released in January, 2005 (see link below).
Related links
More information for scientist on our Nutrition Enhancement Program
- Benchmark details for Unilever Eat Smart™ - Drink Smart™ (1033 KB)
- Unilever Nutrition Enhancement Programme - based on international dietary guidelines (82 KB)
Unilever's food & beverage marketing approach
For more information on U.S. Dietary Guidelines & healthy eating patterns
The nutrients
Why were trans fats, saturated fats, sugar & salt chosen as the key nutrients
Many scientists agree that people around the world and also in the U.S. eat too much of these nutrients and also do too little physical activity. Research shows that by reducing their consumption and by doing more exercise, it's possible to have a longer, healthier life.
What are trans fats?
Most trans fats are artificially created through a chemical process called hydrogenation. This turns liquid vegetable oils into solid fats. Trans fats are also naturally found at very low levels in foods such as dairy products, beef and lamb.
Today, our total range of margarines from Promise is free of trans fatty acids.
What are saturated fats?
They are a type of fat found in meat, animal skin and dairy products. They have a key structuring role in many foods. Where possible, we are lowering saturated fats in our foods by replacing them with unsaturated (more heart-friendly) fats.
Why should we know more about trans fats & saturated fats?
Trans fats and saturated fats appear to have a similar effect by raising blood cholesterol levels. As part of a healthy diet, Dietary Guidelines recommend reducing saturated fats to less that 10% of calories and keeping trans fats consumption as low as possible.
How is it that some high-fat products like Bertolli Olive Oil, Hellmann's mayonnaise & Skippy peanut butter qualify for logo?
The Unilever benchmarks are based on the quality of calories and specific nutrient criteria. When consumed in moderation, high-fat products based on vegetable oils are a recommended part of Dietary Guidelines because they are important dietary sources of essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins and are and important part of a healthy diet. Unilever benchmarks recognize that vegetable oil-based products like olive oil, mayonnaise and peanut butter which contain limited amounts of saturated fats and trans fats, can form part of a healthy eating pattern when consumed in moderation.
Why haven't you included total fat in your program?
Research shows that the type of fat eaten may be as important than the total amount of fat that we eat. For example, unsaturated fats are better than saturated fats and trans fats. Unsaturated fats help prevent a build up of cholesterol in the blood, while saturated and trans fats can increase blood cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease. Total fat does make a big contribution to the quantity of calories you eat, and this is important to remember when managing your weight. Packs with the Eat Smart™ or Drink Smart™ logo will provide information on total calories per serving size.
Why are vitamins, minerals, fibers & protein not included?
There is global consensus that the intake of trans fats, saturated fats, sodium and sugars should be reduced. U.S. Dietary Guidelines also provide this advice and our logo system reflects this advice. The logo system is meant to work along with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines to help consumers identify products to meet their dietary needs.
Does your logo program address energy or calories?
Our foods and drinks will continue to include nutritional labeling information on the calorie content per serving.
One of the key factors that determines the quantity of energy (number of calories) from any product is portion size. There is a wide range of portion sizes for the same products across different countries and this, among other reasons, makes it difficult to generate global benchmarks for calories. We are, however, working on how to include calories in our benchmarks.
I've noticed that on some nutritional information you see the word 'salt' and on others it says 'sodium'. What's the difference between the two?
Salt is made up of two components – sodium and chloride. It's the sodium in salt that can lead to health problems. U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend consumers limit their intake of salt to about 1 teaspoon per day or about 2 400mg sodium daily. And children should eating even less than this. On average, people are consuming about 9–10g of salt a day. This means we are eating nearly twice as much salt than we should. It's a good idea to try to cut down on the salt you are eating, and checking food labels is a very good way of doing this. The Eat Smart™ and Drink Smart™ logos help make this job easier.The logo & you
If I only eat products with the logo, will I have a healthy diet & lose weight?
The logo helps you make better choices as part of a nutritionally balanced diet, and it's important that you eat a variety of foods so that you get enough good fats, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre each day. It's also important not to over eat or consume excess calories. To help maintain a healthy weight don't forget about the importance of regular exercise.
Will I lose weight if I only eat products with the logo?
The logo helps you identify foods and drinks that contribute to a nutritionally balanced diet. The basic rule is that to maintain your weight you need to match your calorie intake (foods and drinks) with your calorie output (the energy you expend through body metabolism and physical activity). You can find the number of calories per serving on products carrying the Eat Smart™ or Drink Smart™ logos.
Are products which bear the logo also good choices for kids?
The products that bear the logo are good choices for children 2 years and older.
Does the logo affect the taste of the product?
No. We've worked hard to ensure that the taste and quality of our foods and drinks is excellent.
Are products with the logo more expensive?
No, the logo does not affect the price. They are the standard products that you are used to that meet the criteria for the logo. So now you can choose the smarter options for for the same price.
Which brands or products will feature the logo?
The logos start to appear on the shelves end of 2006 and will feature on any of our brands or products that meet all four benchmarks for trans fats, saturated fats, sugar and sodium (salt) and in the U.S. we also take cholesterol into account.
During the course of 2007, in the U.S., the logo can be found on the following foods and drinks: Ragu Pasta Sauces, SlimFast meal replacements, Promise Margarines, Skippy Peanut Butter, Lipton tea products, Hellmann's and Best Foods mayonnaise and Bertolli olive oil.
