Nutrition Quality of the Turkey Packaged Foods and Beverages: A Comparison of Two Nutrient Profile Models

Abstract

Nutrient profiling (NP) is a growing issue in Turkey. We aimed to assess two different NP models (the Health Star Rating (HSR) and Pan American Health Organization models (PAHO)) based on the content of packaged products sold in Turkey. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to December 2020. Three supermarkets in Turkey were chosen for this study. Nutritional label information and ingredient lists of the packaged products were obtained in the stores. A total of 2,986 products were analyzed. In total, 39.5% of all products were classified as “unhealthy”; 24.7% of products had excess free sugars, and 11.5% had excess sodium according to the PAHO model. Under the HSR model, 29.3% of all products were “unhealthy” with <3.5 stars. The greatest striking differences were found for some of the food groups. Our results could provide an assessment of packaged foods and beverages sold in Turkey for enhancing nutritional quality.