When I heard the news bite from General Mills about their changing their breakfast cereals to whole grain, I said to myself, hmmm... those ad executives, such funny guys.
Well, not funny as in "ha ha funny"; funny as in strange. Strange because General Mills put out Chocolate Lucky Charms -- whole grain. Gee, that's curious, I thought, could it be that General Mills' folks think consumers can't do the math? Or that we can't read? But wait, why would they spend all that money, resources and development hours perfecting a product that flies in the face of the concern about childhood obesity? After all, that's what the whole-grain campaign is all about -- to improve the nutritional value of the cereal by increasing the fiber and nutrition, right?
Why would they launch a chocolate cereal that contains 15 grams of sugar per 1 cup serving -- equivalent to 4 teaspoons of added sugar, with scarcely a gram of protein and just 1 gram of fiber -- at the same time as they're promoting their cereals as "whole grain," as if that makes it OK? Well, they have done it, and what they want kids to want is junk. Whole-grain junk.
It's time to visit your grocery store and get a reality check. It's important to do this occasionally, even if you don't have a pre-teen in your house, so that you, too, can imagine what it’s like trying to be a mom or dad who’s attempting to buy healthy foods for their family. See how hard the food manufacturers make it for you?
Remember "Fat-Free?"
You may remember the fat-free craze of the '80s, when fat was declared public enemy No. 1. Consumers bought the idea that if it had no fat, you could eat all you want. But to make up for the texture lost when fat is removed from baked goods like cookies and cakes, manufacturers added back sugar -- lots of it. Hey, fat-free tasted OK, and it was better for your diet, right? But we found that cookie for cookie the fat-free and regular products are the same.
That sent me on a mission, exploring the cookie aisles of the grocery store. I’d hold up the packages to poor housewives and househusbands. "See!" I’d shout, "Look! Regular cookies have fewer calories per serving than the fat free! What do you think of that?" They’d look at me like I was crazy, grab the Snack Wells box and race away. I was a one-woman cookie vigilante. "Choose Fig Newton’s!" I’d yell after them, "But the original kind, not the fat free! The original has hardly any fat anyway -- and the fat free has more sugar added!"
She’s losing it, you think. But I’m really bothered by some marketing ploys.
Advertising News
Kraft, the largest U.S. food manufacturer, historically targeted children to advertise their high-fat and high-sugar products, including Kool-Aid, Oreos and Oscar Mayer Lunchables. Now, it's changing their policy and say it’s because of their concern about the rising rate of obesity.
To the company’s credit, Kraft leads the way in being the first major food manufacturer to eliminate trans fat from its packaged foods. Kraft has removed trans fat from a number of its crackers and cookies, reduced fat and sodium content in its Oscar Mayer Lunchables and reformulated the recipes for some of its best-sellers such as Wheat Thins, Ritz crackers, Oreos and Chips Ahoy. They’ve repacked them in 100-calorie pouches -- good for adult and kid portion control.
Some of Kraft’s initiatives sound good. It has established some nutritional guidelines that define what’s healthy, and in April will begin flagging these foods so consumers can easily identify them. According to Kraft's website, these foods qualify for the Sensible Solution flag if they provide beneficial nutrients such as protein, calcium, fiber or whole grain at "nutritionally meaningful levels" (my quotes), or by delivering a functional benefit such as heart health or hydration, while "staying within specific limits on calories, fat (including saturated and trans fat), sodium and sugar" (my quotes again, and I assume these limits are in line with the USDA Dietary Guidelines).
