Why Some Foods Have A Heart Check Symbol On Their Packaging

Lots of groceries have small symbols printed onto the packaging, which can be easy to miss if you aren't looking for them. These are certifications, like the guarantees that food is free from GMOs or gluten, or the Fair Trade certification you can often find on coffee. An important one to know is the Heart-Check symbol. Very simply, this symbol means that the food you're buying is healthy for your heart.

This symbol, a simple red heart with a check mark inside it, shows that a food has been given a Heart-Check Food Certification by the American Heart Association. To acquire this accolade, a food product needs to meet several criteria. Generally, it must contain: Less than 6.5 g of total fat; under 1 g of saturated fat and under 15% of its calories from saturated fat; under 0.5 g of trans fats; under 20 mg of cholesterol; a low amount of sodium, depending on the food category, and; at least 10% of the recommended daily value of either vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, protein, or dietary fiber.

This certification is so specific because foods with the Heart-Check symbol follow American Heart Association guidelines on the recommended daily intake of dietary saturated and trans fats, sodium, and cholesterol. In excess, these things can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke — two of the leading causes of death in the United States. In other words, to take good care of your cardiovascular health, the Heart-Check symbol will show you the best foods to add to your shopping cart.

Not all foods are created equal, and the Heart-Check certification was made with this in mind. The criteria vary for different foods, based on what they naturally contain and how they're often prepared. For example, to get this certification, fruit juice must be pure juice (with or without added water), with no added sugar or sweeteners. These requirements change slightly for smoothies, where added sugar is permitted, provided it's 2 teaspoons or less per serving.

The guidelines vary slightly for naturally oily foods, too. Meats are allowed up to 2 g of saturated fat, rather than the usual 1 g, and cholesterol of up to 95 mg. Nuts, meanwhile, must contain 0 cholesterol but are permitted up to 4 g of saturated fat per serving, and macadamias don't have any restrictions on saturated fats — the rules are relaxed because they come with several other health benefits, so macadamia nuts are still great for breakfast even if they contain saturated fats. Oily fish, like salmon, are also permitted higher amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol, because fish rich in omega-3 oils are good for you, despite their higher levels of other fats.

It's worth keeping in mind that the Heart-Check certification doesn't differentiate between types of cholesterol, which is part of the reason why the amount permitted varies. Cholesterol comes in two types: The healthy HDL cholesterol and the not-so-healthy LDL cholesterol. The amount of sodium permitted also varies a lot, with some foods naturally containing more (shellfish, for instance, are saltier than berries). Despite the subtle differences though, you can consider the Heart-Check symbol as reassurance that the food you're buying was made with your health in mind.