Walmart's New 'Great for You' Label: 10 Foods Getting the Healthy Stamp of Approval
By April Daniels Hussar,SELF magazine
Making healthy choices in the grocery aisle is getting a little bit easier at Walmart. The nation's largest food retailer unveiled their new "Great For You" label today as part of their "healthier food" initiative, and the program already has one famous fan: First lady Michelle Obama.
"Today's announcement by Walmart is yet another step toward ensuring that our kids are given the chance to grow up healthy," said Mrs. Obama, who attended the label unveiling.
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So which foods are getting the green label? According to Walmart, "Great For You" will initially appear on select Walmart Great Value and Marketside items, as well as on fresh and packaged fruits and vegetables at Walmart U.S. stores nationwide this spring, including the following Great Value brand products:
-Unsweetened applesauce
-No salt added sweat peas
-Dried fruit (raisins, pitted prunes, apples, apricots and cherries)
-Eggs
-Snack nuts (whole natural almonds, unsalted roasted peanuts and walnuts)
-Bagged salad
-100% apple juice
-Multigrain bread
-Yellow popping corn
-Dried lentils
Walmart uses a two-step process to judge whether or not to give a product the "Good for You" label. Step one is designed to encourage people to eat more fruits, vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts and seeds and lean meats. Foods that pass this step alone include brown rice, 1-percent milk, raw almonds and 93-percent lean ground beef. Step two of the criteria process limits the amount of total, trans and saturated fats, sodium and added sugars that can be found in items such as sweetened oatmeal, granola bars, flavored yogurt and frozen meals.
Related: 21 Good-For-You Snacks
Angela Ginn, RD, spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, calls this latest move by Walmart a "good start" when it comes to consumers making healthier choices. "Eating nutrient-rich food is the most important thing for your health," says Ginn, "and the items labeled 'Great For You' are nutrient-rich. I believe labeling can be helpful to consumers and can even influence manufacturers to create healthier products," she says.
Walmart has also pledged to make healthy food more affordable, reducing or eliminating the price premium on more than 350 better-for-you items, such as low-sodium lunch meat, reduced-fat peanut butter and fat-free salad dressing.
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"Just over a year ago, Walmart committed to save shoppers a billion dollars in their cost of fruits and vegetables, and the fact that Walmart exceeded this number is a real accomplishment and a milestone in our efforts to support families eating better," Mrs. Obama said. We're with the first lady ... way to go, Walmart!
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