Checking for the green grocery label

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Forget reading those lengthy labels on the back of food boxes. A simple glance at a green check mark could be all you need for nutrition at the grocery store.

Wheeling his cart down the aisle in the Austin organic foods Wheatsville Co-op, Terry Irwin pondered the possibility of easing his shopping experience. Holding health to a high esteem, he said a trip to the grocery store can be difficult deciding what to buy.

“It tastes better,” Irwin said. “It’s better for the environment. It’s better for my son.”

However, a simple green check mark could soon make his trip a lot easier. The Smart Choices Program places a new uniform front-of-package nutrition label on many major brands. ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kellogg Company (US), Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Sun-Maid, Tyson and Unilever (US) will soon display the check in stores nationwide to identify calories per serving and per container.

“I guess the more ingredients an item has and you can’t understand what it says,” said Irwin, “then you probably don’t want to eat it.”

With one glance, you’ll know if it’s good to eat, but Wheatsville workers also want to know the system works.

“It does make us want to make sure that there’s credibility and reliable sources behind what their claims are,” said General Manager Dan Gillotte.

Wheatsville has known for a while how informed some people want to be about their food. From farm to fork, some even want to know how far the food travels before they buy it.

Gillotte looked at the special mileage label on the shelf and said, “There’s a freshness factor for buying a local product that’s coming from just a couple of miles away or even 50 miles away.”

When shoppers know for sure about their food, it makes buying more beneficial. Smart Choices hopes shoppers will trust its nutrition basis, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Institute of Medicine, among others.

“I feel better, at least, mentally knowing that I am doing something to help the Earth, so that makes me feel better,” said shopper Laura West.

As for Wheatville, Irwin said people will shop here because of the attention to nutritional detail.

“I think a lot of people would stand up and pay attention to it, yeah,” he said.

The green check mark should hit Austin shelves this fall. Take a virtual shopping trip to Wheatsville in the iPhone video below: