IKEA wants to contribute to transform the global food system to become more sustainable – in line with the objectives of the first UN Food Systems Summit that will take place this week. With the opportunity and responsibility to make healthy and sustainable eating delicious and affordable to the many people, IKEA is today launching a science-backed Food Nutrition Profiling System. This will enable a big movement in product development to accelerate the transition to a healthier and more sustainable food offer.
“Every year, millions of customers visit IKEA restaurants or Swedish food markets. We can really make a positive impact by providing delicious, nutritious, and responsibly produced food, and have set an ambitious goal to ensure that 80% of all main meals offered in IKEA restaurants are healthier food by 2025,” says Lena Julle, Sustainability Manager for Range, IKEA of Sweden.
The IKEA Food Nutrition Profiling System provides a coherent set of nutrition criteria for the entire IKEA food range, ranging from individual food items to snacks and meals. It is a rigorous system that enables the profiling and tracking of foods into three categories – green, yellow and red – giving important direction for nutrition quality in product development. The system is built upon criteria developed by the Choices International Foundation (Choices) that are scientifically grounded and globally applicable.
Following the principles of the Choices criteria, the system focuses on tracking the factors that are most closely associated with lifestyle diseases, including energy (kcal), saturated fat, sugars, salt and fibre.
“We want to shape a practical food and nutrition profiling system by differentiating between food products that do and those that do not contribute to a healthier diet. One of the interesting things the system allows us to do is really look at how to make plant-based meals and food products nutritionally adequate. With a huge global shift to plant-based underway, including at IKEA, we want to encourage debate on how to make this shift responsibly, with a view to optimal human health. This is a long-term commitment and responsibility, and we have already made a meaningful start on this journey,” says Maria Wirén, Nutrition & Health Leader, IKEA of Sweden.
IKEA takes a full value chain approach to contributing to sustainable food systems, from responsible sourcing of materials, reducing food waste along the value chain, circular and more sustainable packaging and using the IKEA reach to make healthier and more sustainable food options available to as many people as possible. IKEA will work to achieve 50% plant-based main meals in restaurants, and 80% plant-based packaged foods, by 2025.
IKEA fully supports the objectives of the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit, seeking to accelerate action on food system challenges and opportunities globally. By way of support, IKEA has signed the UN Food Systems Summit Business Declaration to underscore the private sector’s commitment to help drive the changes needed.
