The nutritional quality of supermarket own brand chilled convenience foods: an Australian cross-sectional study reveals limitations of the Health Star Rating

The Nutritional Quality of Food Donated to a Western Australian Food Bank

Food banks provide an indispensable service to people experiencing severe food insecurity. Food banks source donations from across the food system; however, the food redistributed to clients across the developed world is nutritionally poor. This, together with the increasing prevalence of diet-related diseases and food insecurity, has prompted a focus on nutritional quality. Despite more food being distributed via food banks in Australia, the nutritional quality of donated food remains unreported. This study analyzed all food (84,996 kg (1216 products)) donated to Foodbank WA over a 5-day period using diet-, food-, and nutrient-based nutrition classification schemes (NCSs). A total of 42% (27% of total weight) of donated food products were deemed 'unsuitable' and 19% (23% by weight) were 'suitable' according to all NCSs. There was no agreement on 39% of products (50% by weight). Overall, NOVA and the Healthy Eating Research Nutrition Guidelines (HERNG) (κ = 0.521) had the highest level of agreement and the ADGs and HERNGs the lowest (κ = 0.329). The findings confirm the poor nutritional quality of food donated to food banks and the need to work with donors to improve the food they donate. Fit-for-purpose nutrition guidelines are urgently needed for Australian food banks to support them in providing nutritious food to their vulnerable clients.

Nutritional Composition and Purchasing Patterns of Supermarket Prepared Foods Over Time

INTRODUCTION

Prepared (ready-to-eat) foods are sold in >90% of U.S. supermarkets, but little is known about their nutritional quality. This study examined trends in purchases of supermarket prepared foods and compared their nutritional profile with that of supermarket packaged foods and restaurant foods.

METHODS

Nutrition data were obtained on prepared foods sold from 2015 to 2019 in 2 supermarket chains (∼1,200 stores). One chain (193 stores) provided transaction-level sales data from 2015 to 2017. Analyses (conducted in 2021-2022) examined trends in the number of different prepared foods offered by the chains and trends in purchases of calories, total sugar, saturated fat, and sodium from prepared foods. Calorie and nutrient densities (i.e., per 100 g of food) and prevalence of being high in calories or nutrients (on the basis of Chilean standards) were analyzed among supermarket prepared foods, supermarket packaged foods, and restaurant foods consumed in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2015-2018.

RESULTS

The number of different prepared foods offered at supermarket chains increased from 1,930 in 2015 to 4,113 in 2019. Calories per transaction purchased from supermarket prepared foods increased by 1.0 calories/month (95% CI=0.8, 1.1), a ∼3% annual increase, with similar trends for other nutrients. At supermarkets, >90% of prepared bakery and deli items and 61% of prepared entrees/sides were high in calories or another nutrient of concern, similar to supermarket packaged foods and restaurant foods.

CONCLUSIONS

Supply of and demand for supermarket prepared foods have grown substantially over time. These trends are concerning given these foods' overall poor nutritional quality.

Do ready-to-eat meals of Greek supermarkets need reformulation?

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the nutritional value of ready-to-eat meals available in Greek retail outlets. A total of 228 meals were identified, their nutritional value was registered according to their labels and a comparison was performed against specific nutritional criteria for the macronutrients, per serving. The 183 products were main dishes and 45 were salads and appetisers. The 28.9% of salads and appetisers were within the calorie cut-off point (250Kcal), the 82.2% of them contained more salt than the limit (0.75 g), whereas 22.2% were within the limit of fat (9 g). 72.1% of the main dishes had fewer calories than the cut-off point (600 Kcal), 12.6% of them had less salt than the limit (1.8 g) and 48.1% of them were within the limit for fats (21 g). Companies should reformulate their offered ready-to-eat meals in terms of their fat and salt content in order to provide the consumers with balanced meals.

Growth of Ready Meals in Australian Supermarkets: Nutrient Composition, Price and Serving Size

Pre-prepared, or ready meals (frozen, chilled and shelf-stable) are increasingly available in supermarkets in developed countries. This study aimed to investigate how the range of ready meals in Australian supermarkets has changed from 2014 to 2020, and how products vary by price, serving size, nutrient composition and Health Star Rating. Product information was obtained from the FoodTrack™ packaged food database for the years 2014 to 2019 and from an instore audit of products available in Adelaide, Australia for 2020. There was a 13% annual average increase in the number of ready meals available in supermarkets. Serving size did not change (median 350 g, p-trend = 0.100) and price increased modestly from 2014 to 2020 (median $1.67 to $1.79/100 g, p-trend < 0.001), with chilled ready meals being the most expensive. A modest decrease in sodium density from 2014 to 2020 (median 275 to 240 mg/100 g, p-trend < 0.001) was seen. However, the category has a wide range in Health Star Ratings and nutrient composition, highlighting the importance of appropriate consumer choice to optimise health benefits. With the increasing availability of ready meals, global improvements within this category should be encouraged and consumers guided to choose healthier products.

The Effectiveness of Interventions Delivered Using Digital Food Environments to Encourage Healthy Food Choices: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Digital food environments are now commonplace across many food service and retail settings, influencing how the population orders and accesses foods. As such, digital food environments represent a novel platform to deliver strategies to improve public health nutrition. The purpose of this review was to explore the impact of dietary interventions embedded within online food ordering systems, on user selection and purchase of healthier foods and beverages. A systematic search of eight electronic databases and grey literature sources was conducted up to October 2020. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials and controlled trials, designed to encourage the selection and purchase of healthier products and/or discourage the selection and purchase of less-healthy products using strategies delivered via real-world online food ordering systems. A total of 9441 articles underwent title and abstract screening, 140 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility, and 11 articles were included in the review. Meta-analysis of seven studies indicated that interventions delivered via online food ordering systems are effective in reducing the energy content of online food purchases (standardized mean difference (SMD): -0.34, p = 0.01). Meta-analyses including three studies each suggest that these interventions may also be effective in reducing the fat (SMD: -0.83, p = 0.04), saturated fat (SMD: -0.7, p = 0.008) and sodium content (SMD: -0.43, p = 0.01) of online food purchases. Given the ongoing growth in the use of online food ordering systems, future research to determine how we can best utilize these systems to support public health nutrition is warranted.