Guiding stars system makes it easier to eat healthy
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nov. 1, 2012 — A grocery store can be a confusing place for consumers facing competing claims about fat, sugar and calories in every aisle. But shoppers at Super Saver and Russ’s Market can now cut through the clutter with the Guiding Stars nutrition rating system. The Guiding Stars program rates the nutritional value of foods on a simple scale of 0-3 stars.
“We know more of our customers want to eat healthy and we want to help them,” said Lynn Friesen, health and wellness coordinator for B&R Stores. “Guiding Stars is an easy way to compare items and choose the most nutritious options. Shoppers simply look at the shelf tags, signs or labels to see how many stars a product has earned.”
The Guiding Stars system rates each edible item in the store, including fresh produce, meats, seafood, packaged foods, prepared deli items and dairy products. The system uses a patented algorithm grounded in the most current dietary guidelines and recommendations of leading national regulatory and health organizations. The more nutritional value a food has the more stars it receives on a scale of 0-3. One Guiding Star indicates good nutritional value; two Guiding Stars, better nutritional value; three Guiding Stars, the best nutritional value. A product with no visible star means that, although the product has been rated, it did not meet the nutrition criteria to merit a star.
“We examined several rating systems and believe Guiding Stars’ science-based analysis provides our customers with the best possible nutritional guidance,” said Friesen.
Information about how to use Guiding Stars will be available in each Super Saver and Russ’s Market store and online at Super-Saver.com and RussMarket.com.
“Busy shoppers are looking for easy and convenient ways to improve their eating habits,” said Sue Till, client services manager for Guiding Stars. “Guiding Stars provides a simple, at-a-glance system that helps customers make more nutritious choices without spending so much of their valuable time reading and comparing labels. We’re very excited to partner with Russ’s Market and Super Saver to bring this progressive approach to nutrition education to Nebraska and Iowa shoppers.”
Details about the Guiding Stars rating system are available at GuidingStars.com.
About B&R Stores, Inc.
B&R Stores, Inc., a Lincoln, Nebraska-based, employee-owned company, was founded in 1964 by Russ Raybould. Since then the company has grown to include four store concepts (Russ’s Market, Super Saver, Save Best Foods and Grand Central Apple Market) located in seven cities across Nebraska and Iowa. For more information, visit brstores.com.
About Guiding Stars Licensing Co.
Since 2006, Guiding Stars has been leading the way in helping consumers make nutritious food choices and has received a U.S. Patent for the Guiding Stars nutrition rating algorithm. The Guiding Stars nutrition guidance program is a simple, easy-to-understand tool for making good nutrition choices and is designed to make a positive and lasting impact on public health. Guiding Stars is currently found in more than 1,700 supermarkets in 25 states including Hannaford, Food Lion, Sweetbay, Homeland, Kings Super Market, Marsh, as well as Loblaw’s Supermarkets in Ontario. Guiding Stars has also expanded into public schools, colleges and hospitals and appears on the Shopper mobile iPhone application. Additional information can be found at www.staging.guidingstars.com.
# # #
MEDIA CONTACT FOR GUIDING STARS:
Maya Zarchan
SS|PR
(781) 894-1739
mzarchan@sspr.com