Application of Choices criteria in Brazil: impact on nutrient intake and adequacy of food products in relation to compounds associated to the risk of non-transmissible chronic diseases.

One of the aims of this work was to evaluate the impact of introducing products that are in agreement with the Choices criteria in the usual diet of the Brazilian population. However, due to the insufficient information on key compounds related to non-transmissible chronic diseases (NTCD) in the national food composition database, the nutritional information of food labels was collected. A food composition database of industrialized products was created (1720 products) and their data were evaluated according to the Choices criteria. The replacement of typical products by products that are in accordance to the Choices criteria may cause a decrease in the intake of saturated (52%) and trans fatty acids (92%), energy (14%) and sodium (47%), as well as an increase in the intake of DF (87%); improving the diet nutritional profile. This procedure can be used as important part in a strategy for decreasing the risk for NTCD.