The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System helps customers make informed nutritional choices in an instant by giving foods on Tops’ shelves a NuVal™ Score from 1 to 100; the higher the score, the better the nutrition. Scores are posted on Tops’ shelves and signs throughout the store, making it easy for customers to compare the overall nutrition of the foods they buy at a glance.

“Tops is committed to providing access to resources in order to help consumer make informed nutritional choices when shopping for themselves and their families,” said Frank Curci, Tops’ president and CEO. “We’re always looking for ways to help our customers navigate through the wide variety of products we offer.”

A player in the growing “food ranking” industry, the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System is currently in use in more than 1,000 supermarkets in 23 states. The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM), a leading organization of some of the country’s top physicians committed to preventing disease and promoting health, has officially endorsed the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System along with other prevalent medical, scientific and educational institutions.

Dr. David L. Katz, Chief Science Officer for the NuVal™ system, is one of the system’s principal inventors and is a leading authority on nutrition, weight control, and the prevention of chronic disease. Remarking on the Tops launch, he said, “The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System turns a lot of nutrition details into a single number. It is a ‘GPS’ for nutrition, leading effortlessly to more nutritious foods on the supermarket shelf. With this easy-to-use, objective, scientifically robust system, a shopper and family can improve their diet and health one well-informed choice at a time. We’re honored and excited to be partnering with Tops Friendly Market, and delighted to bring the power of this system to Tops shoppers and their families.”

Tops’ customers can look for scores with the NuVal™ system’s trademark blue hexagons on the shelf tags of more than 18,000 food items throughout the store. NuVal™ Scores are calculated for a wide variety of categories, including meat, seafood, poultry, salty snacks, milk, yogurt, vegetables (fresh, frozen and canned), cereal, bread, cookies, soft drinks, and crackers, among others. Ultimately, the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System will guide U.S. consumers within food categories with no influence from food manufacturers.

Dr. Leonard Epstein, PhD, is a member of the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System Scientific Advisory Board, and SUNY Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and Social and Preventive Medicine Department of Pediatrics at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Commenting on the partnership between Tops and the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System, he said, “By offering their customers the tools to make educated choices right at the stores’ shelves, Tops is helping members of our community as they begin to incorporate good nutrition into their lives. Small, incremental changes shoppers make as they ‘trade-up’ within a certain category, whether it’s in the snack, cereal or produce departments, have the potential to make significant nutritional differences.”

About Tops Friendly Markets: Tops Friendly Markets, LLC, is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 134 full-service supermarkets – 129 company-owned and five franchise locations. With more than 14,000 associates, Tops is a leading full-service grocery retailer in upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania. For more information about Tops Markets, visit the company's website at www.topsmarkets.com.

About NuVal LLC: The NuValtm Nutritional Scoring System is a unique food labeling system which ranks all foods between 1 and 100; the higher the score, the better the nutrition. NuValtm Scores can be found in participating grocery stores, where they are posted on shelf tags next to the product price and on in-store signage. In addition to Tops Friendly Markets, NuValtm scores can be found at King Kullen, Price Chopper, Hy-Vee, Meijer, Brookshire’s, Big Y, Skogen’s Festival Foods, Coborn’s, Food City, Mariano’s Fresh Market, and United Supermarket stores, with more U.S. retail chains scheduled to introduce the system to their customers in 2011. Visitors to the NuValtm website (www.nuval.com) can find sample scores in a variety of categories. NuValtm is a joint venture formed in 2008 by Topco Associates, LLC, and Griffin Hospital. Retailers interested in learning more about the NuValtm System can contact NuVal LLC at partners@NuVal.com or (781) 228-5800.

Press Room Archive