We’ll soon be getting nutrition advice from a very unlikely source

There’s one dietary issue that most nutritionists would probably agree on: When it comes to dietary advice, there’s no agreement.

So where should you turn for good, sound dietary advice?

I’ll bet you didn’t answer that question with these words: “Wal-Mart.”

This spring, Wal-Mart shoppers will start seeing “Great For You” icons on product labels of foods that someone at Wal-Mart has deemed to be, well, “great” for you.

According to a recent W-M press release, items with the icon have met “rigorous nutrition criteria informed by the latest nutrition science and authoritative guidance” from the FDA, USDA, Institute of Medicine, and “nutrition experts from the public and private sectors.”

And from that Tower of Nutrition Babel we get Great For You items such as skim milk, Crunchy Nugget cereal, macaroni, and a variety of canned fruits and vegetables.

Personally, I’d label each of those with a “Probably Not So Great For You” icon.

Wal-Mart’s system to help shoppers choose healthy foods won’t settle any arguments over nutrition issues, but it will produce one obvious benefit.

W-M sells several different brands of foods right along side their own brands. So, for instance, when you see a can of corn with a familiar brand name, it will sit on the shelf beside a can of the Wal-Mart brand corn.

But the W-M brand will display the Great For You icon.

Now, with Wal-Mart touting the convenience and ease of picking healthy foods just by looking for the GFY icon, do you suppose that might plant the idea in a shopper’s mind that the Wal-Mart brand is healthier than the other brand?

Well played, Wal-Mart. Nutritionally, you’ve done virtually nothing. But as a marketing ploy, it’s golden.

Sources:
“Wal-Mart Creates Icon For Food Packages To Encourage Healthful Choices” Alison Aubrey, NPR, 2/7/12, npr.org