Bethpage, NY – King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc. (Bethpage, NY) has launched the NuValTM Nutritional Scoring System in all 45 of its Long Island and Staten Island locations. Known as “America’s First Supermarket,” King Kullen is the first supermarket chain in the New York metropolitan area to partner with NuVal, a national nutrition firm based in Braintree, Massachusetts. The announcement was made at a press conference held at King Kullen’s Commack, New York, store attended by NuVal founder Dr. David Katz and King Kullen representatives.
NuVal’s Nutritional Scoring System is a guide designed to enhance the shopping experience. Store items receive a NuVal score from 1 to 100; the higher the score, the better the nutrition. Scores are posted on supermarket shelves and signs throughout the store, making it easy for consumers to compare the overall nutrition of the foods they buy at a glance.
“Implementing the NuVal scoring system is the most ambitious step we’ve taken in 80 years to promote nutritious eating,” stated King Kullen Co-President Brian C. Cullen, whose grandfather, Michael J. Cullen, founded King Kullen in 1930. “For the first time ever, shoppers can walk down the aisles of their local King Kullen store and receive easy-to-follow guidance that allows them to make informed food choices and improve the nutritional value of their diets. King Kullen is proud to be the first supermarket in the region to offer customers this objective and easy-to-understand nutritional guidance system."
King Kullen customers can look for scores with the NuVal trademark blue hexagons on shelf tags throughout the store. The NuVal Scores are powered by a sophisticated, scientific algorithm that considers more than 30 nutrients, including carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. It accounts for how these nutrients influence health and how they relate to recommendations from the USDA dietary guidelines and Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes. NuVal scores are then calculated for most food categories, including meat, seafood, poultry, salty snacks, milk, yogurt, vegetables (fresh, frozen and canned), cereal, bread, cookies, soft drinks, and crackers, among others — with no influence from food manufacturers or retailers.
King Kullen Co-President J. Donald Kennedy observed, “Through this partnership, NuVal and King Kullen will help customers learn how to live better, more nutritious lifestyles. By putting NuVal scores on our shelves, we’re giving our shoppers the ability to instantly find and ‘trade up’ to more nutritious items within each food category.”
Dr. Katz, a nationally recognized authority on nutrition, weight control, and the prevention of chronic disease, explained, “The NuVal Nutritional Scoring System was developed in response to America’s troubling health trends, including the rapidly rising rates of obesity and diabetes in both the adult and child populations. NuVal is honored and excited to be partnering with America’s First Supermarket in this important effort to improve public health.”
NuVal Scores are currently available in chains such as Price Chopper, Big Y, Hy-Vee, Meijer, and United Supermarkets, among others, with more chains expected to launch later this year. Visitors to the NuVal website (www.nuval.com) can find sample scores in a variety of categories. NuVal is a joint venture formed in 2008 by Topco Associates, LLC, and Griffin Hospital.
Headquartered in Bethpage, New York, King Kullen Grocery Company, Inc. is recognized by the Smithsonian Institution as America's first supermarket. Founded in 1930 by Michael J. Cullen, King Kullen today employs more than 4,000 people and operates 45 stores and four Wild by Nature markets throughout Long Island and Staten Island.
Source: King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc.
