Nutrition ratings using gold stars next to price labels on grocery shelves might lead to modest but measurable improvements in consumer choices, says a new study. Published in the journal Food Policy, its the most rigorous independent analysis of point-of-purchase nutrition labeling. Because of the availability of data, researchers focused on the Guiding Stars system introduced in 2006 by the Hannaford supermarket chain and now licensed for use in more than 1,800 stores. Compared to sales at groceries not using the star ratings, sales of cereals rated zero-stars at 134 Hannaford stores dropped 2.58% during the first 20 months of the program. Higher-rated cereal sales also increased slightly. Although the percentages are small, said FDA scientist Jordan Lin, an author of the study, if you think in terms of the actual quantities or boxes of cereal sold in the national market, this could have some important implications on the nations health.
