For Immediate Release: January 3, 2011 Contact: Eddie Owens, APR, Director of Corporate Communications
(office: 806.788.4863; cell: 806.928.0462)
United Supermarkets Rings in New Year by Extending
NuVal™
Nutritional Scoring System to All 50 Stores
System helps shoppers fulfill their New Year’s resolutions
for a healthier
2011 by enabling them to make healthier food choices
LUBBOCK, TX -Healthy changes are well underway at United Supermarkets in the new year, as the company has now made available the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System in all 50 of its stores.
Last year, the company became the first supermarket chain in Texas to introduce the NuVal system, rolling it out in 14 “specialty” stores, including all 10 Market Street locations. Shoppers can now find the NuVal scores on shelf price tags in all locations of United Supermarkets, Market Street and Amigos United.
The NuVal system enables United guests to make quick and easy nutritional comparisons between foods on supermarket aisles. Developed by an independent panel of nutrition and medical experts from universities and health organizations, the simple NuVal system rates all foods and beverages on a scale of one to 100 based on a variety of nutritional characteristics.
Each product’s score is determined by the presence of more than 30 nutrition factors including carbohydrates, proteins, fats, cholesterol, sugar and sodium; the higher the NuVal score, the better the product’s nutrient value.
Once an item’s NuVal score has been calculated, United includes it on shelf tags and other in-store signage in virtually every food department, helping families make easy, educated decisions about their food purchases to help improve overall nutrition.
“Understanding all the facts on an item’s nutrition panel can be complicated andoverwhelming, and then non-packaged foods such as fresh produce traditionally don’t offer any nutrient information,” said Tyra M. Carter, PhD, RD, LD and United’s corporate dietitian. “The NuVal system provides our guests with the resource they need to evaluate all kinds of foods – from apples to potato chips to yogurt – and fine-tune their family diets to suit their unique tastes and nutrition needs.”
Guests can use the NuVal scoring system at United, Market Street and Amigos grocery stores to compare nutritional value alongside price, brand and product type. For example, some varieties of frozen and canned vegetables score the same as fresh produce on the NuVal scale. Similarly, guests may find there’s room to trade-up to a healthier version of their family’s favorite snack with a higher NuVal score.
To help guests learn about using the NuVal System, United will host educational Healthy New You Expos at its 10 Market Street stores Jan. 15 and 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. At the events, trained Market Street staff will be on hand to explain the NuVal System, clear up myths about healthy eating and teach guests how to make food work for them for a nutritious new year.
Outside of the expos, United offers several year-round services to help its guests build happy, healthy lifestyles including free personal shopping assistance, group nutrition tours and classes conducted by registered dietitians. For more information on the NuVal program, guests can visit ww.unitedtexas.com/nuval or ask United’s dietitians at http://www.unitedsupermarkets.com/healthwellness/ask. Fans can find United on Facebook at www.facebook.com/UnitedWestTexas and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UnitedWestTexas.
About United Supermarkets
Now in its 94th year of operation, United Supermarkets, LLC, is a Texas-based, family-owned grocery chain with stores in 30 markets across north and west Texas. A self-distributing company with its headquarters and distribution center in Lubbock, United currently operates 50 stores under three distinct formats: United Supermarkets, Market Street and Amigos United.
