Encouraged by WHO and other international organizations, an increasing number of countries are preparing and implementing measures to improve consumer food choices by means of a variety of food system actions; various forms of FOP labelling, taxation, limitation of marketing to children, standards for product reformulation, food purchasing standards, school feeding standards etc.
In July 2020, we announced our new strategy, shifting focus from industry to governments and from a positive logo to coherent sets of food system actions. The final goal of these food system actions is to improve public and consumer health by encouraging the consumption of healthier foods and decrease the consumption of the least healthy foods.
To support multiple food system actions coherently, we have asked our International Scientific Committee to extend the Logo Criteria to a multi-level system of criteria that classify food products in five levels of healthiness. Based on the same principles that we have used to develop and adapt our logo criteria, the Choices International Scientific Committee is working on this. It expects to publish the methodology and resulting multi-level criteria (MLC) in the second half of 2021.
Whilst the methodology and resulting criteria is the mandate of our International Scientific Committee and is work in progress, the Board of Choices has agreed the terms of reference and intended application of these multi-level criteria.
Choices recommend using its 5-levels as visualised in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Note that this is a recommendation and that countries have full autonomy to decide which food system actions they would like to implement and how they use their national (multi-level) criteria. For further explanation read here.