In the Dutch “Voedingcentrum” app “Kies ik gezond?”, the products of Jimmy joy are mostly absent.
The 4 products that are includes are:
Plenny Haverdrank Chocolate Pak
Plenny Haverdrank Vanilla Flavor Pak
Plenny Maaltijdvervanger van poeder Chocolate stazak
Plenny Maaltijdvervanger van poeder Vanilla stazak
All 4 products are not included in their “Schijf van vijf” recommendations.
The “haverdrank” (which I think are the ready to drink products) because they contain to little Calcium.
The “Maaltijdvervanger” (which is just the regular powder product) because the “voedingcentrum” categorizes them as a diet/ weightcontrol product! It says it’s more expensive then regular healthy meals and lumps in into weight loss products.
I think especially the last judgement is rather unfair. Jimmy Joy doesn’t advertise their products as weight control products at all, and I have had no problem at all replacing near to all my meals with jimmy joy products for extensive periods of time.
Does anybody have any idea why this institute judges these products in this way and if there could be some truth to it? This sort of thing makes me doubt whether or not I should rely on Jimmy Joy products for most of my meals.
Just speculating here, but could it be that it doesn’t really fit in any of the categories because for plenny products the total daily recommended intake of nutrients has been divided over 5(? I can’t remember ) portions? So each portion has just a little bit of everything… but not enough of 1.
E.g. if I remember it right, with the schijf van vijf they recommended 2-4 portions of dairy (depending on age etc.). But if you eat just 2 plenny products in a day, you won’t get the recommended amount of calcium since the amount is spread out over 5 products.
I haven’t done any blood tests, but I often eat Jimmy Joy products for 2 of my main meals (protein shake with greek yogurt for the third, and I snack on fruit/vegetables/nuts/beans with the occasional chocolate/cookie) and I’ve never been healthier. Though, I do take a daily supplement as well.
De schijf van vijf is een leuk startpunt voor basisschool kinderen om de basis te leren van gevarieerd eten: ‘Als je alleen patat en cornflakes eet, krijg je niet alle voedingstoffen binnen en word je ziek.’
Ik zou alleen niet JimmyJoy producten in twijfel trekken (zoals je aangeeft in de titel), omdat dit model uit 1953 over gevarieerd eten, geen rekening houdt met een product wat 100% complete voeding in 1 maaltijd aanbied.
Daarnaast, wie neemt anno 2023 nog het voedingscentrum serious? Het stamt uit de 2e wereld oorlog om mensen advies te geven over hoe je bloembollen moest klaarmaken.
== but could it be that it doesn’t really fit in any of the categories because for plenny products the total daily recommended intake of nutrients has been divided over 5(? I can’t remember ) portions ==
No I don’t think that is the issue. A lot of products that do enter their recommendations are just regular foodstuff, which also doesn’t provide 100% of what you need per day per portion.
== Ik zou alleen niet JimmyJoy producten in twijfel trekken (zoals je aangeeft in de titel), omdat dit model uit 1953 over gevarieerd eten, geen rekening houdt met een product wat 100% complete voeding in 1 maaltijd aanbied. ==
I think you have a outdated view of the “schijf van vijf” model. It has been updated frequently across the years.
== Daarnaast, wie neemt anno 2023 nog het voedingscentrum serious? Het stamt uit de 2e wereld oorlog om mensen advies te geven over hoe je bloembollen moest klaarmaken. ==
Why would you assume their advice hasn’t changed over the years? Just the fact that the institute is old isn’t a reason to dismiss them.
Thanks for sharing this with us, we were unaware of the app from the Voedingcentrum so we downloaded it and looked at it.
According to the Voedingscentrum website, meal replacements are automatically included in the category of weight management foods, because they assume that all are meant for weight loss, which is not the case with our meals. They are referring to meals that provide between 200-250 kcal, which is not our case. They must have an automated system that sets our meals out of the wheel of five.
Regarding calcium in our meals, the information on our nutritional table shows the minimum amount that we add to our meals, corresponding to the vitamin and mineral mix. We make lab tests to evaluate the vitamins and minerals in our meals, which are at optimum levels, far from their upper limit.
According to our research, the Voedingcentrum doesn’t agree with the reference intake established by the EFSA for calcium (and other few minerals and vitamins). The difference is small, but we follow the EFSA guidelines. We believe that this is the reason why our meals are considered to be lower in calcium.
At the moment we are re-evaluating our vitamin and mineral mix. We will keep in mind the requirements from the Dutch authorities for the calcium levels.
Hey Laura (I never really left, was lurking mostly),
Thank you for the quick and very thorough response! And thank you for taking this seriously. This makes me feel a lot better and alleviated all my personal doubts.
I agree that they probably have some automated system that places “replacement meals” into the weight management category. That was my initial reaction as well. I am not sure if the Voedingcentrum has some way to be contacted by food manufacturers because I think this form of judgement is rather unfair of them.
Thank you for the information on difference between the EFSA guidelines and what the Voedingcentrum is looking at.
Although I understand that it’s probably an automated categorisation error, it is rather ridiculous that Voedingscentrum puts Jimmy Joy in the weight loss category, since each meal consist of 400 calories. By the time I’ve had my breakfast and lunch, I’ve already consumed 800kcal. Add an evening dinner, some fruits & occasional snack, and I’ve reached my reference intake for the day.
I hope Voedingscentrum will reconsider their standpoint, especially since the meals already have the official nutriscore A.
) portions? So each portion has just a little bit of everything… but not enough of 1.