Discover how Zouki is aligning with national Healthy Choices initiatives to offer nutritious options and empower consumers to make healthier food selections. Learn about our revamped recipes, nutritional classifications, and updated labelling system to support informed choices and create healthier environments.
Healthy Choices Program
Healthy Choices is an initiative introduced by the individual state governments nationally. The intention of the same is to show the variance between nutritional values in each product and classify the same as a Red , Green, or Amber classification.
The Victorian Government is helping to create health promoting environments throughout the state. Healthy Choices is a framework for improving the provision and promotion of healthier foods and drinks in key settings where Victorians spend their time.
Along with the Victorian Government NSW/ACT & QLD have also introduced their own version of this program to booster the consumers understanding and ability to choose what they want to consume but hoping that before they choice the information on display and on labels may influence their decision towards making a Healthier choose.
In Queensland the program is known as A Better Choice (ABC) also indicated by Queensland Health and interpreting the same principle as those both in Victoria and NSW. For further information please visit Queensland Health Website.
New South Wales has also initiated a Healthy Eating Healthy Food and Drink Program again similar to the principle in other states but more so concentrated on the visual impact of how food is displayed and positioned. For more information go to NSW Government Health Foods.
At Zouki we have revisited all the original recipes and created new recipes but with a difference. We have been able to recreate the same flavours and quality we are renowned for but reducing the average amount of energy, fat, protein, sugars, and salt. We have then contracted Nutrition Australia to calculate individually the nutritional information of each product we prepare and classify the same under the Healthy Choices guidelines, classifying each item to the following categories:
Red- Limit.
Amber – Choose Carefully.
and
Green – Best Choice.
As part of this process, we took the opportunity to reinvent our labelling system updating each products label, meeting local and FSANZ Standards nationally. Each label now lists Name of product, Ingredients, Nutritional information, Place of manufacture, Use by date and importantly Allergens. Allergens plays a significant role towards keeping our patrons safe and informed while enhancing our food safety system. However importantly it is critical that allergens are nominated on each label to protect the consumer . Zouki does not and cannot be an allergen free business as the production kitchens constantly using thousands of different ingredients that contain different allergens making isolation of all allergens impossible. We do however practice allergen controls throughout our production kitchens and service areas attempting to keep patrons safe and satisfied.
Zouki have also reviewed and finalised our new catering menu and a 4-week rotation site menu having introduced new recipes while reviewing each existing recipe and reclassifying the same to meet the Healthy Choices Program nationally. Again, part of this process involved contracting Nutrition Australia to validate all recipe to a Red , Amber, or Green classifications, this is now displayed on each label. Further information is available at Nutrition Australias Website.