Three-Star Snacks In Aisle Five

But competition is coming. At the end of the month, Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, is unveiling his own Overall Nutritional Quality Index. It will give even more detailed ratings than Hannaford's, using a 100-point scale, and include additional factors like protein quality in its rankings. Katz is finalizing plans with Topco Associates—a cooperative of independent grocery-store chains and wholesalers—to introduce the system next year in roughly 2,000 stores nationwide. Sure, it's ambitious. But Hannaford has shown that such lofty goals are more than just pie in the sky.

© 2007