Zouki and Nutrition Australia (Victoria): A partnership to improve the food retail environment

摘要

Background: Australians should have the opportunity to eat a healthy, balanced diet. The availability and ease of access to unhealthy foods, time pressures that make convenience foods appealing, advertising and social norms are all factors that shape our diet. The Victorian Government developed the Healthy Choices guidelines to ensure that healthy foods and drinks are offered and promoted in places like hospitals, sports facilities and workplaces. Aim: To support a hospital food retailer, using evidenced based guidelines, to provide healthier food and drinks in their hospital retail outlets and to influence individual's consumption habits. Methods: Nutrition Australia collaborated with Zouki to improve the food environments of their hospital retail outlets. Key activities undertaken over four years include baseline assessment of the food environment, extensive stakeholder engagement, classification of drinks, modification of recipes, nutrition and kilojoule labelling. Results: Outcomes of this partnership include the classification of 2534 foods and drinks against the relevant jurisdic-tional nutrition guidelines, modification of over 700 Zouki recipes and nutrition labelling for 2500 items. These improvements resulted in a significant reduction and promotion of unhealthy food in Zouki outlets. Common and effective strategies include healthy drink promotions, foods or drinks being labelled as green, amber or red, placing healthier foods and drinks in prominent positions and supporting food manufactures to improve their product's nutrition quality. Conclusions: The relationship between Nutrition Australia and Zouki demonstrates how nutrition professionals are well positioned to support retailers in making their food environments healthier and meeting nutrition legislation.