TORONTO, ON – February 21, 2013 (TSX: L) – Starting February 22, Loblaw banner stores across Ontario now feature Guiding Stars®, giving shoppers a faster, easier way to make nutritious food choices at the grocery store. The Guiding Stars program is exclusive to Loblaws®, Fortinos®, Real Canadian Superstore®, Your Independent Grocer®, valu-mart® and Zehrs Markets® locations across Ontario.
Created by a scientific advisory panel of experts, Guiding Stars® is a nutrition navigation program that provides at-a-glance nutritional ratings using stars as symbols. Foods are scored based on their nutrient density and, if they meet the appropriate criteria, are given a rating of 1, 2 or 3 stars with 3 stars being the highest rating. Using an impartial system and nutritional standards, including Canada’s Food Guide, the program rates foods based on vitamins, minerals, fibre, whole grains, omega-3s, saturated fat, trans fat, added sodium and added sugar.
“Forty-one per cent of Canadians use food labels as a resource when making food choices*,” says Alexis Williams, registered dietitian and director, health and wellness, Loblaw Companies Limited. “The Guiding Stars® program can make this process easier and is a complement to existing nutritional data such as the nutrition facts table, on-package product labels, and Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating.”
Loblaw aims to empower Canadians to make nutritious choices and provide them with support on their journey to a healthier lifestyle. In addition to Guiding Stars®, customers can find other useful products and resources in store such as:
- PC® Blue Menu® line of products (more than 400) won’t sacrifice great taste in the pursuit of nutritious choices. They’ll help you eat less fat or sodium in favour of fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, soy protein, vitamins and minerals, plant sterols, probiotics, and/or prebiotics. Easy to understand green arrows makes it simple for customers to see exactly what’s different about each and let you know what elements have been added or reduced.
- In-store dietitians, President’s Choice Cooking School classes where shoppers can learn how to cook nutritiously and great programs through partnerships with the Canadian Diabetes Association and Hypertension Canada.
For more information about the Guiding Stars® program, please visit your local Loblaws®, Fortinos®, Real Canadian Superstore®, Your Independent Grocer®, valu-mart® and Zehrs Markets ® location or visit guidingstars.ca
*Findings are based on a Vision Critical online survey of 1,014 randomly selected Canadian adults aged 18 and over.
About Loblaw Companies Limited TSX:L
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada’s largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000 corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its franchisees employ more than 134,000 full-time and part-time employees. Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of products and services to meet the everyday household demands of Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and value of its food offering. It offers Canada’s strongest control (private) label program, including the unique President’s Choice®, no name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In addition, the Company makes available to consumers President’s Choice Financial® services and offers the PC® points loyalty program.
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For more information please contact
Laura Tulley, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
416-413-4635 / laura.tulley@hkstrategies.ca
Loblaw Companies Limited
905-459-2500/pr@loblaw.ca
Or visit www.guidingstars.ca