Parsing which foods are healthy and which are less so isn't always straightforward – a new rating system aims to demystify the process

Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Renata Micha, Associate Professor in Human Nutrition, Tufts University, Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Professor Emeritus in Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, and Paul F. Jacques, Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, The Conversation on Jan 24, 2023

Published in Health & Fitness

To make use by others as easy as possible, we’ve published all the details of the scoring algorithm, and the scores of the products evaluated, so that anyone can take what we’ve done and use it.

Stay tuned – as we complete additional research, we believe Food Compass will become an important tool to clear up confusion in the grocery store and help people make healthier choices.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation has a variety of fascinating free newsletters.

Dariush Mozaffarian has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Vail Innovative Global Research, and the Kaiser Permanente Fund at East Bay Community Foundation; personal fees from Acasti Pharma and Barilla; serves on the scientific advisory board of Beren Therapeutics, Brightseed, Calibrate, Elysium Health, Filtricine, HumanCo, Instacart, January Inc., Perfect Day, Tiny Organics, and (ended) Day Two, Discern Dx, and Season Health; owns stock in Calibrate and HumanCo; and receives chapter royalties from UpToDate.

Jeffrey B. Blumberg has received research funding from Danone S.A. and USDA and serves on the scientific advisory boards of Advocare International, American Botanical Council, Blueshift Nutrition, Bragg Live Food Products LLC, California Prune Board, California Walnut Commission, Cranberry Institute, Good Pharma LLC, Everly Health, Guiding Stars Licensing Co, January.ai Inc, Segterra Inc, SmartyPants Vitamins, and Vital Technologies Ltd.

Paul F. Jacques currently receives research funding from the US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, the National Institutes of Health, and the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Science, and has previously received research funding from Danone Nutricia Research. Dr. Jacques is a member of the Danone North America Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Advisory Board, the Grains for Health Foundation Scientific Advisory Committee, and the Bay State Milling Nutrition and Science Advisory Council.

Renata Micha has received research funding from the National Institute of Health, Gates Foundation and Danone S.A. Dr. Micha is the Chair of the Independent Expert Group for the Global Nutrition Report.