Sanitarium Health Food Company Action Plan

Sanitarium Health Food Company Action Plan
Food Content	Marketing Practices	Consumer Information	Lifestyle Action
Actions Nutrient content	Responsible practices	Labelling initiatives Free consumer nutrition advisory advice	Physical activity Healthy eating
Examples Product Development Since 1898, the provision of health foods remains core to Sanitarium’s mission to improve community health. Reformulation of canned vegetarian foods to reduce salt content. Reformulation of Cornflakes and Puffed Rice breakfast cereals to reduce sodium content from 900mg+ per 100 grams to 780mg per 100 grams. Development of reduced fat variants of soy-based ice cream alternatives. Development of portion controlled mixes of whole nuts and fruits, with no additives. Nutrition Guidelines Maintain company nutrition guidelines that regulate amount of fat, saturated fat, salt, sugars and fibre, where appropriate.	Advertising Adhere to the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code for Advertising to Children All marketing claims to meet Food Standards Code requirements.	Nutrition Information Continue to provide credible, relevant nutrition information for free to influence and motivate people to make well balanced eating choices (as part of an overall healthy lifestyle), through the Sanitarium Nutrition Service. The Service, established in 1986, employs seven full time dieticians. Nutrition Labels Maintain a nutrition labelling program to help consumers understand the new food labelling system. To date this has involved nutrition cards in Weet-Bix packs (reaching 46% of Australian households), 12,000 nutrition fact sheets, communicating through Good Food News and media promotion. The total reach has been over 8 million consumers. Communications Provide nutrition and lifestyle information through: Good Food News, a free nutrition newsletter, is distributed four times a year to 24,000 consumers, health professionals and teachers. Recipe of the Week free email, distributed to 3,500 consumers weekly. Nature’s Superfoods columns in the Body & Soul supplement of News Limited newspapers have been published since Jan 2003 and aim to encourage people to include more whole plant foods in their daily diet. The readership is about 6.6 million people. Nutrition fact sheets and leaflets on a range of topics are sent to approximately 16,000 consumers, health professionals and teachers each month. Improve Sanitarium website to provide up to date consumer information on health eating choices. The Soyfacts website provided to educate the media and health professionals with the latest facts and health benefits of soy foods.	Children’s Programs Continue the Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRY-athlon which provides an opportunity for children to participate in an event which builds self-esteem and confidence, encourages them to develop healthy habits of physical activity and exercise. In 2003/04 over 9,100 kids participated in Kid’s TRY-athlon. Continue the Good Start Breakfast Club, which was launched in February 2004 in partnership with Red Cross Australia. This provides a healthy breakfast for children at schools in areas of greatest need. The program currently involves 80 schools serving over 120,000 breakfasts in the school year. Company health program for all staff implemented in 2004. Components provided to staff include physical activity, health subsidy’s, lifestyle and life skills programs, healthy food.

Food Content

Marketing Practices

Consumer Information

Lifestyle Action

Actions

Nutrient content

Responsible practices

Labelling initiatives
Free consumer nutrition advisory advice

Physical activity
Healthy eating

Examples

Product Development

Since 1898, the provision of health foods remains core to Sanitarium’s mission to improve community health.

Reformulation of canned vegetarian foods to reduce salt content.

Reformulation of Cornflakes and Puffed Rice breakfast cereals to reduce sodium content from 900mg+ per 100 grams to 780mg per 100 grams.

Development of reduced fat variants of soy-based ice cream alternatives.

Development of portion controlled mixes of whole nuts and fruits, with no additives.

Nutrition Guidelines

Maintain company nutrition guidelines that regulate amount of fat, saturated fat, salt, sugars and fibre, where appropriate.

Advertising

Adhere to the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code for Advertising to Children

All marketing claims to meet Food Standards Code requirements.

Nutrition Information

Continue to provide credible, relevant nutrition information for free to influence and motivate people to make well balanced eating choices (as part of an overall healthy lifestyle), through the Sanitarium Nutrition Service. The Service, established in 1986, employs seven full time dieticians.

Nutrition Labels

Maintain a nutrition labelling program to help consumers understand the new food labelling system. To date this has involved nutrition cards in Weet-Bix packs (reaching 46% of Australian households), 12,000 nutrition fact sheets, communicating through Good Food News and media promotion. The total reach has been over 8 million consumers.

Communications

Provide nutrition and lifestyle information through:

Good Food News, a free nutrition newsletter, is distributed four times a year to 24,000 consumers, health professionals and teachers.

Recipe of the Week free email, distributed to 3,500 consumers weekly.

Nature’s Superfoods columns in the Body & Soul supplement of News Limited newspapers have been published since Jan 2003 and aim to encourage people to include more whole plant foods in their daily diet. The readership is about 6.6 million people.

Nutrition fact sheets and leaflets on a range of topics are sent to approximately 16,000 consumers, health professionals and teachers each month.

Improve Sanitarium website to provide up to date consumer information on health eating choices.

The Soyfacts website provided to educate the media and health professionals with the latest facts and health benefits of soy foods.

Children’s Programs

Continue the Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRY-athlon which provides an opportunity for children to participate in an event which builds self-esteem and confidence, encourages them to develop healthy habits of physical activity and exercise. In 2003/04 over 9,100 kids participated in Kid’s TRY-athlon.

Continue the Good Start Breakfast Club, which was launched in February 2004 in partnership with Red Cross Australia. This provides a healthy breakfast for children at schools in areas of greatest need. The program currently involves 80 schools serving over 120,000 breakfasts in the school year.

Company health program for all staff implemented in 2004. Components provided to staff include physical activity, health subsidy’s, lifestyle and life skills programs, healthy food.