The workshop of the PromoKids in Bergen 12 June 2019. Arja Lyytikäinen

1. Dietary guidelines for children and
Nutrition commitment as a tool for
implementation
Arja Lyytikäinen 12.06.2019, Bergen, PromoKids meting
National Nutrition Council c/o Finnish Food Authority

2. “Health from Food” – Finnish Nutrition Recommendations
National evaluation: food consumption, nutrition status, health,
food culture → population level food-based dietary guidelines
Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
Common scientific evaluation and scientific evidence for
national recommendations in the Nordic countries
Group/age/institution-specific recommendations
Eating together – Food recommendations for families with children:
Prepregnancy, pregacy, lactation, infants, toddlers, school children, adolescence
Eating and learning together – recommendations for school meals
Health and Joy from Food: Meal recommendations for early childhood education and care
Food recommendations for high school students (updated version)
Finnish Food and Nutrition Recommendations
2012
2014
2016 -
2019

3. New series of food recommendations
All available in English: https://thl.fi/fi/julkaisut/julkaisusarjat/kide
2016, 2. revised edition 2019 2017 2018

4. Recommendations of healthy, safe and
sustainable diet – “basics in one package”
Finnish Plate Models for
different kind of food selection
Food Triangle – From daily choices(base) to less frequent
discretionary choices(top)

5. Adequate, safe and sustainable diet, health and well-being of children
are composed by well-organized catering services and food education
Functional frame for meals and food education
in early education and care and in primary school

6. Three served meals daily and pedagogically guided
food education in Kindergartens

7. Warm, free of charge meal for everybody every school
day from preprimary to the second level of education

8. Promotion of health through food choices

9. Nutrition quality in meal components for meal planning,
food procurement and competitive tendering

10. Nutrition quality in meal components for meal planning,
food procurement and competitive tendering
Minimum criteria for nutrition quality: Side dishes

11. Minimum criteria for nutrition quality: Other meal components

12. Nutrition Commitment
National Nutrition Council, Finland
Finnish National Operating Model
• to implement the Dietary Guidelines and
• promote food reformulation/service design
in food industry, retail shops and catering services
• national implementation action for
the EU reformulation program

13. The Society’s commitment – the
Finnish social innovation to promote
sustainable development. It is one of
Finland's ways to implement Agenda
2030
Nutrition Commitment
is a a part of the Society’s Commitment
to Sustainable Development in Finland
UN Agenda2030: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/
https://commitment2050.fi/ http://kestavakehitys.fi/en/frontpage

14. National Commitment2050
Goal: Equal prospects for well-
being
UN Agenda2030
Goal 2: End hunger*,
achieve food security and
improved nutrition and
promote sustainable
agriculture.
(*malnutrition/inadequate nutrition)
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives
and promote well-being for
all at all ages.
Nutrition Commitment is linked to
the goals 2 and 3 in the global Agenda2030 and to the
goal ”Equality” in the national Commitment2050

15. Nutrition commitment’s
common vision
• Increase vegetable consumption, and intake of pufa
and fiber
• Decrease salt, safa and added sugar content in food
products
• Moderate portion/package sizes
• Improve the nutritional quality of products targeted
to children
In 2020, everybody in Finland can have a diet that
is in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines

16. Who can join the commitment?
• All food business operators and other parties promoting
healthy dietary habits
• Food industry, retail trade, importers of food products
• Providers of catering services, lunch restaurants, fast food outlets,
cafes
• NGOs
• Municipalities/cities
• Schools, kindergartens, educational institutions
• Media (including food bloggers and food journalist) and
• Employers etc.
Is not targeted to individual concumers
https://commitment2050.fi/

17. NUTRITION COMMITMENT
Salt
CONTENT AREAS OF THE COMMITMENT
Timeline of operations
At earlist 2015 → 1-(3)5 years
Goals, spesified measures and indicators
Baseline Reporting
1 x/year
Operators’ own nutrition commitments
Lunch
(meals/
snacks)
Pilot ad 2020
Fat
quality
Added
sugars
Vege-
tables
Products
for kids
RecipesPortion and
package size
https://commitment2050.fi/

18. CONTENT
AREA
DESCRIPTION POPULATION LEVEL TARGET MEASURES
Salt We will reduce the intake of
salt by reviewing the
composition of products and
our purchasing policy. Salt
contents will be reduced
gradually, which will have an
impact on the intake and the
liking for salt.
Salt intake should be reduced by 20
per cent by the year 2020,
compared with the level in the Findiet
2012 survey.
The long-term target is to ensure that
the salt content of the products that
are central to salt intake is in
accordance with the Better Choice
Heart Symbol criteria.
Priority should be given to the
following food groups that are
central to salt intake: bread and
cereal products, convenience
foods, meat products, cold cuts
and cheese.
Iodised salt will be preferred.
Quality
of fat
We will improve the quality of
fats by reducing the content of
hard fats (saturated fats and
trans fats) and by increasing
the content of soft fats
(monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats) in
products and purchases.
Population level intake of saturated
fats should be reduced by 20 per
cent by the year 2020, compared
with the level in the Findiet 2012
survey.
The long-term objective is to ensure
that the fat quality in the products
that are central to the intake of
saturated fats is in accordance with
the Better Choice Heart Symbol
criteria.
Priority should be given to the
following food groups that are
central to the intake of saturated
and unsaturated fats: dairy
products, spreads, meat
products, convenience foods,
spreads and bakery products.
Saturated fats should be
replaced with soft fats (more
extensive use of oil).

19. Added
sugars
We will reduce the
intake of sugar by
lowering sugar contents
in our products and by
purchasing products
with less sugar. We will
take measures that will
have an impact on sugar
intake and the liking for
sugar.
In product groups central to sugar
intake, sugar contents will be
reduced by 10 per cent by the year
2020, from 2015 levels.
The long-term objective is to ensure
that the sugar content in the products
that are central to sugar intake is in
accordance with the Better Choice
Heart Symbol criteria.
Priority should be given to the
following food groups that are central
to added sugar intake:
soft drinks, juicedrinks,
bakery products and breakfast cereals,
dairy products and berry and fruit
foods containing added sugar.
Vege-
tables
(vege-
tables,
berries
and
fruits)
We will use more
vegetables in
accordance with the
nutrition
recommendations. We
will also encourage the
use of vegetables
through marketing
communications, food
education, recipes and
other measures.
There will be an increase of 30 per
cent in the use of vegetables by the
year 2020, compared with the 2012
Findiet survey (In 2012, men consumed
an average of about 300 g and women
about 350 g of vegetables each day. The
long-term target is 500 g/day).
A broader range of vegetables,
vegetable foods, berries and fruits will
be made available and their content in
meals will be increased.
Measures will be taken to encourage
the use of vegetables, including
marketing communications, food
education methods (such as the
sensory-based Sapere education and
taste clubs and schools) and recipes.

20. CONTENT
AREA
DESCRIPTION POPULATION LEVEL TARGET MEASURES
Products for
children
We will promote the
implementation of nutrition
recommendations by
improving the nutritional
quality of the products
intended for children and by
marketing the products in a
responsible manner.
In 2020, all (100%) products
intended for children are in
accordance with the Heart Symbol
criteria or the WHO nutrient
profile models
and
the products are marketed in
accordance with the guidelines and
recommendations on marketing
communications to children.
The measures will improve the
nutritional quality of the products
intended for children and ensure that
the products intended for children
are not of poorer quality than those
intended for adults, in terms of their
content and quality of salt, fat and
added sugar.
Marketing directed at children will be
in accordance with marking
communications guidelines and
recommendations.

21. Basic criteria for the nutrition commitment
The operator must
1. support the vision and general objectives laid out for the nutrition commitmen and
promote at least one commitment content area.
2. consider nutrition as a whole (product’s whole nutrition profile). reformulation must
lead to overall improvements in product quality.
3. act in a nutritionally responsible manner: In your marketing and communications you
must comply with the EU food information regulation (EU No 1169/2011) and the EU
regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods (EU No 1924/2006) as well as
the Consumer Protection Act (38/1978) and applicable guidelines/recommendations
for marketing communications. Follow the rules and recommendations on marketing
communications to children.
4.1 The targets must be concrete, specific and significant
4.2 The targets must be measurable and it must be possible to monitor the progress
4.3. The commitment must lead to new products and practices

22. Nutrition commitments - statistic
53 commitments
– 23 operators,
• Big food companies 7
• Retail Trade companies 7
• School catering services 4
• Others 8

23. Results (after the 1st whole year)
• ”We bring 400 new plant protein based food ”vege shells” at shops
around the country; 300 ”vege shells” were build
• ”We add +56 % Hearth Symbol products (meal products)”; + 67% was
reached
• ”We add 30 new products, less sugar/natural products (muesli, fruit
drinks, fruit products)”; 70 new products were listed (own Brand
name products)
• ”We bring to the market new cheese with special ValSa –salt (less
sodium in it) 7 milj kg/y; 3,7 milj kg/y was produced
• ”We produce new products with less sugar/natural (20-50 % less
sugar), + 100 % to the baseline (84 at market in 2017); 136 new
products (2018)

24. Results: Products/services for children
• ”We bring 4 new snack products for children (fruit pure etc) based on
school meal recommendation”; 2 products for mass catering was
produced
• ”We arrange ”Children’s food forum” this year; The forum was arranged
with plenty of participants” (Retail Trade company)
• ”We bring 20 new products for children (less sugar/salt/natural
products); 71 new products for children (Retail Trade company)
• ”We arrange 100 free of charge ”S-cook” courses for children with ”the
Finnish Martha Förbundet”; 90 courses were arranged around the
country (Retail Trade company).
• ”We offer for Kindergartens ”Food baskets” including vegetables and
fruit for Sapere-food education with tips of the tasks”; Catering service
Company

25. Kestävän kehityksen yhteiskuntasitoumus
14.6.2019 KESTÄVÄN KEHITYKSEN YHTEISKUNTASITOUMUS 25
Case: S-group
+ 50 new
healtier
products
for children

26. Preliminary results of the work done
• National remarkable new model for cooperation with food
operators has bee created
• Set the priorities for the measures needed to improve Finnish diet
• Wide discussions/workshops with the stakeholders → the stakeholders take their own
responsibility to implement the new model in their operations (Federation of Food
Industry, Federation of Retailers, Federation of Professional Catering Staff)
• ”Not so small, that it is not effective at all” → start with small steps, simple measures,
also possible to take the consumers taste preferences into account
• Regular dialogue with stakeholders – common development in the voluntary team
(working group, seminars, reports → media releases, social media)
• Forerunners are now involved → good examples for the other
• Annual report, 2019
https://commitment2050.fi/

27. Other implementation measures of
dietary guidelines for children

28. Nature step
to wellbeing
“Let’s build a strong basis for children’s welfare, strong immune system
and lifelong learning”
kuva
More information:
heli.kuusipalo@thl.fi

29. The important relationship between nature contacts and human
health
• A diverse exposure to microbes in early
childhood is essential for developing a strong
immune system.
• Urbanization and global warming challenges to
develop new ways to improve the health of
people hand in hand with sustainable
development.

30. Natural step to wellbeing promotes
circular economy and diversifies children’s
microbiome in early-childhood educational
environment
Early childhood education professionals Food service professionals & systemsChildren and families Municipal commitment

31. Vegetable-based diet
and sensory based food
education (Sapere)
More nature contacts (playing, climbing trees, touching plants
and eating diverse foods), special attention to positive
experiences
Minimizing food loss
and utilizing food
waste locally
Urban gardening Green walls Compost
Wondering,
learning, asking,
enjoying
Respecting nature
A strong
connection to
nature

32. Follow-up to the 3 years Follow-up to the 6 years
Food service Changes in menus and meals Changes in menus and meals
Education & food
service
professionals
Attitudes toward foods & eating,
pedagogic menus (food contacts),
All children and
their families
Attitudes toward foods & eating, food
habits, food literacy, weight and height
Overweight, asthma, allergy (ISAAC)
500 intervention
children and 500
control children
Changes in diet, serum carotenoids as
biomarker of vegetable consumption,
microbiome, immune responses, allergic
sensitivity (IgE), hair cortisol level
Changes in diet, serum carotenoids as biomarker
of vegetable consumption, microbiome, hair
cortisol level
Table 1. Measured outcomes in the present project.

33. Finnish food system reform – a model for day care and primary schools (FoodReform)
University of
Helsinki (HY)
Institute for Health
and Welfare (THL)
University of
Eastern Finland
(UEF)
Tampere
University (TAU)
Natural
Resources
Institute (Luke)
Finnish
Environment
Institute (SYKE)
Health,
microbiome,
immune system
Coordination,
food systems,
nutrition,
epidemiology
Food education Cost-effectiveness Sustainability
climate-neutrality
Co-development
sustainability
WP1 Co-developing sustainable, healthy and climate-neutral food system (SYKE)
WP2 Food education in improving food system (UEF)
WP3 Measuring diet and food system
(THL, Public Health Promotion)
WP5 Measuring sustainability and
climate-neutrality (Luke)WP4 Measuring health (HY)
WP8 Interaction (THL, Communications)
WP7 Management and coordination (THL, Public Health Promotion)
WP6 Cost-
effectiveness
(TAU)
WP6 Cost-
effectiveness (TAU)
FIGURE 2. The distribution of the project to work packages (WP).