From the NYT:
A new food-labeling campaign called Smart Choices, backed by most of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, is “designed to help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices.”
The green checkmark label that is starting to show up on store shelves will appear on hundreds of packages, including — to the surprise of many nutritionists — sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops.
And as Dr. Violet Socks noted:
… [B]asically it allows manufacturers to slap a cheerful green checkmark label on any food product that meets the guidelines they themselves have established. Obviously the guidelines are not exactly rigorous, since Froot Loops and fudge pops made the cut. The heuristic seems to be something along the lines of, “is this food better for you than mainlining melted Crisco?” If yes, then pop a checkmark on that fucker and party on!