A Smart Spot for Consumer Well-Being

For those of you trying to shop grocery shelves a little more diet-conciously, we now have a little guidance from one Food/Beverage conglomerate. Last fall, Pepsico launched their "Smart Spot" label initiative. Although it was officially launched about 6-7 months ago, I just caught word of the Smart Spot labels being rolled out recently (or should I say, I dug my head out of the sand and finally noticed the labels during a recent grocery store outing). The Smart Spot label is a symbol that Pepsico has placed on various food and beverage products that meet certain nutrition criteria such as:

• limited amount of total fat and saturated fat, and no trans fat
• low cholesterol
• low sodium
• limited amount of added sugars
• contributions of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, fiber and/or protein

[and yes... even diet soft drinks have room in the equation!]

I know a lot of big companies have a bad rap when it comes to consumer well-being, but I think this initiative is a good idea. Yes, it means that Pepsico is drawing attention to their own products to hopefully sell more of said products. However, it also means that consumers can be made more aware of healthy choices. And I think we all could use a little guidance among the grocery shelves every now and then. Most people just don't understand how to feed themselves and/or their families in a healthy way. Or they think that the only ways to eat healthy are a) to eat repugnant foods that no one wants to eat or b) to spend lots of money on "health" products they really can't afford. While it may take some know-how and creativity, it is possible to find and eat good-tasting, satisfying healthy foods on a budget.

I honestly think that what Pepsico is doing for consumer guidance and education in the area of nutrition and health outweighs any selfish money-hungry intentions. Taking a look at the big picture, we are an overweight nation. But until this overweight nation is taught how to take care of themselves responsibly - i.e. how to fit activity into busy lives and healthy foods into tight budgets - outside of the "I always have a way out with Extreme Makeover" fallback mentality, we will continue to be an overweight, unhealthy nation. So I extend kudos to the Smart Spot label mastermind... as well as all others who truly care about educating our nation in areas of nutrition and health.