‘Guiding Stars’ Scientific Advisory Panel Gets New Member
Guiding Stars Licensing Co. (GSLC) has added Dr. Mark A. Kantor to its Scientific Advisory Panel. The panel includes doctors, scientists, professors and dietitians who are working on behalf of the “Guiding Stars” nutrition-rating program to help consumers make healthier food choices. Kantor is a food science and nutrition specialist with over 30 years of experience.
As an associate professor in the department of nutrition and food science at the University of Maryland, Kantor provides training, resources and other support to University of Maryland Extension county educators to assist with consumer efforts and local educational activities, as well as conducting and evaluating applied nutrition and food safety research projects. He was previously a science consultant for the American Heart Association and an adjunct instructor of nutrition at Montclair State College.
“The Guiding Stars Scientific Advisory Panel is an esteemed group of experts in the fields of nutrition and health and their work is helping to create healthier lifestyles and eating habits for consumers,” noted Kantor. The panel’s recommendations are drawn from labeling standards and nutrient levels that have been determined as most beneficial to a healthy lifestyle by top national and international health organizations, and are consistent with recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, according to Scarborough, Maine-based GSLC.
“Dr. Kantor’s diverse background will be an asset to the Guiding Stars program,” noted GSLC managing director Betts FitzGerald. “His involvement will further enhance our Scientific Advisory Panel and Guiding Stars’ commitment to enabling people to make more nutritious choices whether in a grocery store, school cafeteria, university dining hall or using the ReachEverywhere Shopper iPhone application.”
The panel’s other members are Leslie M. Fischer, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., University of North Carolina; Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D., Tufts University; Tracy A. Fox, M.P.H., R.D., Food, Nutrition & Policy Consultants; Clare M. Hasler, Ph.D., M.B.A., University of California, Davis; Lori A. Kaley, M.S., M.S.B., R.D., LD, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at University of Maine; and Dr. Jeremy Nobel, M.D., M.P.H., Harvard University.
In other Guiding Stars news, the program will employ FoodPro foodservice management solution technology from Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Aurora Information Systems to offer the nutrition-rating system at college and university dining halls and campus convenience stores across the United States. Numerous colleges and universities — including the University of New Hampshire, which already provides Guiding Stars — use FoodPro, an integrated software application with modules for all major tasks in the foodservice business, among them forecasting and pre-costing, menu planning, food purchasing, production and inventory control, catering, nutritive analysis, point-of-sale interface, post-cost reporting, and financial analysis.
The system, which debuted at Hannaford supermarkets in 2006, employs a proprietary, science-based algorithm rating all edible foods positively based on the presence of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and whole grains, and negatively for the presence of trans fats, saturated fats, cholesterol, added sugars and added sodium. Food items are then given zero, one, two or three stars, with one star standing for good nutritional value; two stars, better nutritional value; and three stars, the best nutritional value.
GSLC creates opportunities for supermarkets, manufacturers, foodservice providers and other organizations to license the program, which is now available in over East Coast 1,400 grocery stores, among them Hannaford and its sister Delhaize banners Food Lion and Sweetbay Supermarket.
As an associate professor in the department of nutrition and food science at the University of Maryland, Kantor provides training, resources and other support to University of Maryland Extension county educators to assist with consumer efforts and local educational activities, as well as conducting and evaluating applied nutrition and food safety research projects. He was previously a science consultant for the American Heart Association and an adjunct instructor of nutrition at Montclair State College.
“The Guiding Stars Scientific Advisory Panel is an esteemed group of experts in the fields of nutrition and health and their work is helping to create healthier lifestyles and eating habits for consumers,” noted Kantor. The panel’s recommendations are drawn from labeling standards and nutrient levels that have been determined as most beneficial to a healthy lifestyle by top national and international health organizations, and are consistent with recommendations from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, according to Scarborough, Maine-based GSLC.
“Dr. Kantor’s diverse background will be an asset to the Guiding Stars program,” noted GSLC managing director Betts FitzGerald. “His involvement will further enhance our Scientific Advisory Panel and Guiding Stars’ commitment to enabling people to make more nutritious choices whether in a grocery store, school cafeteria, university dining hall or using the ReachEverywhere Shopper iPhone application.”
The panel’s other members are Leslie M. Fischer, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., University of North Carolina; Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D., Tufts University; Tracy A. Fox, M.P.H., R.D., Food, Nutrition & Policy Consultants; Clare M. Hasler, Ph.D., M.B.A., University of California, Davis; Lori A. Kaley, M.S., M.S.B., R.D., LD, Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at University of Maine; and Dr. Jeremy Nobel, M.D., M.P.H., Harvard University.
In other Guiding Stars news, the program will employ FoodPro foodservice management solution technology from Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Aurora Information Systems to offer the nutrition-rating system at college and university dining halls and campus convenience stores across the United States. Numerous colleges and universities — including the University of New Hampshire, which already provides Guiding Stars — use FoodPro, an integrated software application with modules for all major tasks in the foodservice business, among them forecasting and pre-costing, menu planning, food purchasing, production and inventory control, catering, nutritive analysis, point-of-sale interface, post-cost reporting, and financial analysis.
The system, which debuted at Hannaford supermarkets in 2006, employs a proprietary, science-based algorithm rating all edible foods positively based on the presence of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber and whole grains, and negatively for the presence of trans fats, saturated fats, cholesterol, added sugars and added sodium. Food items are then given zero, one, two or three stars, with one star standing for good nutritional value; two stars, better nutritional value; and three stars, the best nutritional value.
GSLC creates opportunities for supermarkets, manufacturers, foodservice providers and other organizations to license the program, which is now available in over East Coast 1,400 grocery stores, among them Hannaford and its sister Delhaize banners Food Lion and Sweetbay Supermarket.