A guide to healthy shopping will help people understand food labels and make better food choices, according to the local heart and stroke charity Croi.
The pocket sized card uses “traffic light” colours to advise shoppers on healthy and unhealthy amounts of sugars, fat, fibre and salt in the foods they buy.
Speaking at the launch, Croi chief executive Neil Johnson said the “Guide to Shopping Card” will make it easier for people to make informed food choices when doing their weekly shopping.
“Making healthy food choices isn’t always easy especially when buying for the family,” he says. “The Croí Traffic Light Card will help shoppers get the balance right by making it easier to choose between products and brands while keeping a check on the amount of fats, sugars and salt they eat.”
Croi cardiac dietician Claire Kerins said that many people were confused by the claims made by food companies and had difficulty understanding the nutritional information on the back of food packets.
“Our aim is to bust the myths around certain food and claims made by food companies. We are often drawn to a healthy looking bar that has fat-free emblazoned across the front of it. But what people don’t realise is that they may actually be three times more sugar in that bar than say in a Mars bar or Snickers bar.
“On the new card a red light indicates foods high in fats, salt or sugars while the green light signals that the food is low in these and therefore a healthier choice.”
The Croí Pocket Guide to Healthy Shopping is free and available from the new Croi Heart and Stroke Centre, Moyola Lane, Newcastle.
As part of Croi’s Heart and Stroke Week the charity will host a half day seminar entitled “Wise2Weight” on childhood obesity and how parents and children can deal with the issue on Saturday September 22 at the Croi Heart and Stroke Centre, the first of its kind in Ireland.
The speakers will include Dr Francis Finucane, a consultant endocrinologist at University Hospital Galway; Claire Kerins, Croi cardiac dietitian; Ruth Kilcawley, senior dietitian at the child and adolescent mental health services and Caroline Costello, Croi physical activity specialist.
Places are limited and must be booked in advance by telephoning Paul at (091 ) 893515.
