Smart Choices labels on packages misleading

08 Sep 2009

Experts feel that the marketing schemes of the new food-labeling campaign called the "Smart Choices Program", designed primarily to identify products that are better because they contain more good nutrients, need a good hard look.

According to the program chairman Mike Hughes, "The purpose is to help people make choices about healthier food and to make different selections than they are making now."

So far, the program is backed by Big Food's major powerhouses - Kellogg's, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, Unilever, General Mills, PepsiCo and Tyson Foods.

These companies apparently want to market their processed foods, but why some nutrition societies got involved in the scheme is perplexing to experts.

Nutritionists critical of the program

The critics believe the program has a different objective.

"The point of the program is to make processed foods look healthy when you really want people eating foods that have been as minimally processed as possible," said Dr. Marian Nestle, a professor of nutritional studies at New York University.

Walter C. Willett, chairman of the nutrition department of the Harvard School of Public Health, stated that the principal used by program was faulty, an abuse of the nutritional values of the products.

The nutritionists are surprised that frosted flakes like Froot Loops also qualify for the logo as healthy breakfast meal. With the fiber content less than one gram per serving, Froot Loops, a cereal laden with sugar, is definitely not nutritious.

According to experts, the nutrition labels are misleading, giving parents a false confidence in the product, which in turn is indirectly fostering the growing problem of childhood obesity.

“It’s a blatant failure of this system and it makes it, I’m afraid, not credible,” Mr. Willett said.

Promoters defend the program

Promoters of the “Smart Choice Program” in their defense state that the labeling is based on government dietary guidelines, accepted nutritional standards and is also influenced by studying consumer behavior.

"We believe that the smart choices program, taken in its totality, will encourage people to eat in line with U.S. dietary guidelines for Americans," Hughes said.

The cause for concern, experts feel, is that the unsuspecting consumers may opt for processed foods, instead of fruits and vegetables believing them to be healthy meals, endorsed by the government.

However, the good news is that The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates food labeling, is tracking the marketing schemes closely.

Michael R. Taylor, a senior FDA adviser declared, “We’re taking a hard look at these programs and we want to independently look at what would be the sound criteria and the best way to present this information.”

Source: Science Eye