Dining Services to revise food fact cards to include sugar content, exclude cholesterol information

In keeping with the newest national dietary guidelines, Tufts University Dining Services (TUDS) has elected to add the sugar content to nutrient information cards and remove cholesterol information from them for foods served in dining halls, according to Director of Dining and Business Services Patricia Klos.

“The food fact cards were introduced [at Tufts] approximately 10 years ago,” Nutrition Marketing Specialist Julie Lampie wrote to the Daily in an email. “[However], sugar was added just last week to the food fact cards.”

Lampie explained that when theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines were released in Jan. 2015, there were some notable changes that influenced the decision to update the food fact cards.

“For the first time, a recommendation to limit added sugar intake to 10 percent or less of [all] daily calories [consumed] was added,”Lampie wrote. “As a result, we have added sugar to our labels. Nutrient information for food service doesn’t typically break down 'added sugar,' so we are labeling 'sugar' on the cards.”

She added that TUDS also received two student requests this year to add sugar content to the nutrition cards.

Meanwhile, cholesterol information was eliminated from the nutrition cards, based on the lack of scientific support that cholesterol in food increases blood cholesterol, Lampie said. 

As the registered dietitian for Tufts Dining, Lampie is responsible for obtaining information on ingredients, nutrients and food allergens from manufacturers and vendors and adding that data to the TUDS inventory database.

According to Klos, the information on the food fact cards comes from standardized recipes TUDS has created in its recipe database, FoodPro.

“Each ingredient is assigned a corresponding food item for which nutrient values are known, and the nutritional and caloric values are calculated per serving based on these recipes,” Klos said. “For each meal period the manager prints out the corresponding card for each food item that will be served.”

Students with specific food allergies and sensitivities explained that the food fact cards have been useful for them.

“I use [the cards] all the time,” Tess Callahan, who is gluten-intolerant due to celiac disease, wrote in an email to the Daily. “I’ve used them from the very first day, and they’ve been enormously helpful.”

Callahan, a sophomore, said she found many menu items that seem like they would not contain gluten or wheat which actually do because of the information listed on the cards.

“I rely on these cards to keep myself safe during mealtimes,” Callahan said. "The nutrition facts are helpful for anyone interested in watching their weight or just seeing what’s in their dinner, but I find them especially helpful in avoiding things that may make me sick."

When asked if others in her social circle utilize the food fact cards, Callahan believed that it’s often not the case.

“I think I’ve been trained to pay attention to [the nutrient cards] because of growing up with celiac, but many others simply don’t pay much attention,” she said.

Callahan believes that adding the sugar content of food to the cards will prove helpful for certain students.

“It is paramount for any student with diabetes or a similar problem to know how much sugar [they are] consuming at each meal,” she said.

Sophomore Theodore Cahill, who is allergic to dairy products, also gave positive feedback about the nutrient cards.

“I do use the cards, and I've been using them since I got to Tufts,” Cahill said. “They have all the ingredients on them and have a list of common allergens that each food contains, which I find very helpful because I don't have to guess what food I can eat.”

Any student wanting additional nutritional information on the food offered at Tufts can access this information on the TUDS website, according to Lampie.

"The interface on the web is similar to a retail food label, so cholesterol will appear in [nutrient information] as well as sugar," Lampie said.

According to Lampie, students can also view the nutrient profile for an entire meal.

“It’s also a handy tool for students with food allergies as it allows you to filter by allergens, thus providing a list of foods to avoid,” Lampie said.