A recent survey by Foodminds, a PR firm working with food companies, provides some interesting  stats on the triangular relationship consumer-brand-regulator. Americans clearly welcome increased government involvement in food and nutrition issues, particularly when it comes to labeling. Among the interesting findings:

93% of shoppers ranked the Nutrition Facts panel as a very or somewhat useful tool, followed by front-of-pack information (low fat, high in fiber, etc.) at 88%.

86% of consumers are interested in the government implementing objective  front-of-pack labeling. This includes information about calories and beneficial nutrients.

58% support  government bans of junk food advertising to kids.65% of shoppers reject proposed taxes on junk food and beverages.

64% said if their favorite food had a warning label on it, they would either eat less or stop buying the product entirely.

Wow. That last stat is amazing – almost two thirds of Americans would cut down on their FAVORITE food? And all it needs is a warning label? Seems like wishful thinking, although some will say that severe warnings on Cigarette packs have reduced smoking.

What to do at the supermarket:

You don’t nee warnings on products to know what to stay away from. A quick glance at the ingredient list can tell a lot – the longer it is, the more processed the product and the less nutritiously worthwhile it is. A look at the nutrition facts panel gives you the whole picture. A product may be low-fat but very high in sugar. Now that won’t help you very much will it?

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Yoplait has a new Greek style yogurt out. There’s a massive marketing campaign tie in to the new Clash of the Titans movie and Athena portraying actress Izabella Miko. Strong woman eats good yogurt. Greek gods, Greek Yogurt, Yadda yadda…

The yogurt pack prominently displays “2X Protein..of the leading yogurt”. Wonder what that means. We decided to take a look inside the nutrition label and ingredient list to see if this yogurt is really healthy or just some more mythology…

What you need to know:

A serving is 6 ounces (170 grams) and will set you back 130 calories, none from fat. The sugar count is 18 grams, much lower than a standard Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt (27 grams). Of the 18 grams, 9 are naturally present in yogurt in the form of lactose. So the added sugar count is 9 grams or just over 2 teaspoons.

There’s no fiber, though you’d expect some from the fruit. There’s 12 grams of protein here, much more than in the standard Yoplait (5 grams). But protein is not an ingredient most people lack in the US. We get plenty of protein from other sources during the day. And the claim that it’s twice the protein as other leading brands is misleading, because Chobani Greek yogurt has 14g.

Here’s the ingredient list:

CULTURED PASTEURIZED GRADE A NONFAT MILK, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SUGAR, STRAWBERRY PUREE, KOSHER GELATIN, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, COLORED WITH BEET JUICE CONCENTRATE, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, , VITAMIN A ACETATE, VITAMIN D₃.

The first and obvious ingredient is milk. Non-fat milk in this case. The second is an ingredient called milk protein concentrate, made by ultra filtering milk to take out the lactose and then dry it up into a powder. There’s a lot of controversy around this ingredient as it is mostly imported from countries with dubious food safety records, and may not even be from cows (think yak and water buffalo). So why add protein in this manner to the yogurt, when in any case it’s not something consumers really need?

Ingredient number 3 and 4 are sugar. Well actually number 4 is strawberry puree, but it’s lost all its fiber and vitamin C, so all you’re getting is a bit of strawberry flavor and a lot of sugar. By the way, the strawberry puree is not red enough, so there is added coloring from the beet juice concentrate. That’s fine, at least it is a natural colorant, and not some artificial dye or bug juice.

The gelatin adds a thickness or consistency that would not have been required from a full fat yogurt. It’s kosher, which means it was not derived from animal sources.[UPDATE: see comment below]

The last three ingredients are fortifications of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin D. Always better to get them directly from food in which they are naturally present, not from add-on.

Summary: This yogurt is a better choice than the standard Yoplait option.

What to do at the supermarket:

As far as yogurts go, choose plain. It has less ingredients and less sugar. It lets you add fresh nutrient rich fruit of your choice giving you the added benefit of fiber and vitamins directly from the source, no fortifications.

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European researchers are worried about antimony, a toxic chemical element, appearing at possibly unsafe levels in various juice brands:

Writing in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring, scientists at the University of Copenhagen studied antimony levels in 42 juice drinks and found antimony concentrations above EU limits for drinking water in eight of them.

This discovery is of concern to the soft drinks industry because antimony is a suspected carcinogen that resembles arsenic on a chemical level. read more…

What you need to know:

Antimony is a toxic chemical element. In small doses, it can cause headaches, dizziness, and depression. Larger doses can lead to violent and frequent vomiting, and death in a few days.

So how does antimony get into juice drinks? The answer may lie in the containers, not the liquid itself.  Antimony leaches from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles into liquids stored within.

And why, dear lord, one asks, is a toxin used in food bottles?

Turns out that antimony is used as a catalyst in the production of plastic bottles. Despite it’s role solely as a facilitator of a chemical reaction, there’s always a minuscule bit of antimony that is left over in the resulting bottle.

There are strict standards as to how much antimony is allowed in water to be considered safe. In the US it’s 6 part per billion (ppb). In the EU – 5 ppb. But this is a definition for water in general. There are no standards specifically for bottled juices.

The British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) responded to the study claiming that the 44 ppb found in several bottles does not mean they’re unsafe, as

“there is no read across between the levels of antimony permitted in drinking water and those that might be acceptable in a fruit juice or a juice drink. It is not uncommon that different product types should have different regulatory requirements.”

What to do at the supermarket:

Another reason to fret about buying and consuming plastic bottled drinks? Not really.

We wouldn’t put antimony at the top of our list of worries. There are plenty of other good reasons to switch to tap water, including weight lost, money saved, and planet greened.

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Last year it was peanut butter. Before that – tomatoes. It seems like every year there’s one major food recall that really shakes the system. Last week the FDA notified the public about another recall hurricane, this time for various products containing Hydrolized Vegetable Protein, an ingredient used in many processed foods:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to protect the public following the early identification of Salmonella Tennessee in one company’s supply of hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP). This is a common ingredient used most frequently as a flavor enhancer in many processed foods, including soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips and dressings.

The manufacturer of the affected product is Basic Food Flavors Inc in Las Vegas, Nevada. Only HVP manufactured by Basic Food Flavors is involved in this recall. read more…

What you need to know:

HVP is a flavor enhancer used in a wide variety of processed food products, such as soups, sauces, chilis, stews, hot dogs, gravies, seasoned snack foods, dips, and dressings. It is often blended with other spices to make seasonings that are used in or on foods.

As of late Saturday night, 92 products are on the recall list, including bouillon, dips, dip mixes, dressings, and snacks. Unfortunately the list will keep growing.

Fortunately, most of the products that use the tainted HVP have a “kill step” which requires heating them up, thus killing off the salmonella. So far, nobody has reported any illness as a result of the contamination.

Theoretically the shelves should be free of recalled products, but as each day passes new products are added to the list. Since many of them are non-perishable, there is a good chance you may already have them stocked in your pantry. To be on the safe side, check the ingredient list for Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and then consult with the FDA website to see if the product is on the recall list.

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Will New Yorkers agree to a tax on sugary soft drinks?

That is yet to be determined, but both proponents and opponents are not taking any chances. The Alliance for a Healthier New York is airing the above commercial til mid March. Will this counterpunch to the well oiled marketing and PR machine of the American Beverage Association succeed?

We’re highly doubtful that the campaign will succeed, despite the fact that soft drinks are a major contributor to our obesity problem. Some interesting stats from the alliance:

• Each can of soda a child consumes per day, increases their odds of becoming obese by 60%.
• High soft drink consumption increases the risk of diabetes in women by 83%.
• The Soda and Sugary Drink Tax is expected to decrease consumption up to 15%.

We suggest that instead of taxing consumers, the manufacturers be taxed directly for the damage they are causing to our health. This can be done through a levy on each ton of sweetener they use to produce sugary drinks. This is the just approach, if the industry broke it, they should fix it, not the consumers.

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Big news in nutrition labeling!

The FDA has sent  a WARNING LETTER to 17 food manufacturers notifying them that 22 of their food products violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. From yesterday’s FDA press release:

The violations cited in the warning letters include unauthorized health claims, unauthorized nutrient content claims, and the unauthorized use of terms such as “healthy,” and others that have strict, regulatory definitions.

Some prominent examples (see all here):

POM Wonderful – The product makes claims that it will treat, prevent, or cure diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. These types of claims are not allowed on food products.

Juicy Juice All-Natural 100% Juice Orange Tangerine and Juicy Juice All-Natural 100% Juice Grape – The product labels imply that the products are 100% juice when they are actuallyjuice blends with added flavors.

Nature’s Path Organic Flax Plus Multibran Cereal – The product label includes the nutrient claim, “excellent source of Omega-3+,” which has not been approved for use on food products.

The warning letters follow an October 2009 statement by Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret Hamburg, M.D., encouraging companies to review their labeling to ensure that they were in compliance with FDA regulations, and were truthful and not misleading. Kudos to Dr. Hamburg, who, unlike her predecessors, is unafraid to take on the food industry, just as a strong regulatory body should.

Here’s why these letters are a monumental turning point:

1. They indicate that food labeling truly is a high priority for the FDA
2. They show, by example, that there is no wiggle room for creative health claims (ie – health claims are not supposed to be marketing claims)
3. They warn the entire industry that companies not in compliance need to shape up or else…
4. Going forward, the FDA will be much more proactive in determining the best way to provide front-of-pack nutrition information to consumers.

While some detractors may pull out their “nanny-state” claims, it is our position that the free markets have failed the US consumer, who is today fatter and sicker as a result of too much bad food peddled by manufacturers. A strong regulatory body stands not to interfere with competition, but to make sure the rules of the game are being observed and that profits are not at the expense of public health.

What to do at the supermarket:

While all this is great news, your local supermarket is still choc full of misleading products and health claims. Our suggestion is to invest the time in reading the nutrition fact labels and ingredient lists, skipping the front of pack claims altogether.

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This is an important week for the future of US school lunch nutrition. The Child Nutrition Act is up for re-authorization, and many groups are hoping the program will increase spending to improve the nutritional value of school lunches.

The School Nutrition Association (SNA), which represents more than 75% of the food service workers in American schools, is convening in Washington DC for their annual Legislative Action Conference. Michelle Obama addressed the group, which is very supportive of Let’s Move, her new initiative to battle childhood obesity.  Details here, thanks to ObamaFoodorama.

Yesterday the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee convened a hearing Improving Children’s Health: Strengthening Federal Nutrition Programs.

Lunch for the session was prepared by Chicago high school students who had won a school lunch cooking competition late last year. The lunch they prepared had to be both nutritious and tasty. These amazing kids could only spend $2.68 per meal, the allotted funding by the government for school lunches that feed millions of children across the nation daily.

Last week  we had the honor of participating in a blogger conference call of the Healthy Schools Campaign, headed by Rochelle Davis, Founding Executive Director.  The non-profit organization is dedicated to making schools a healthier place to learn and work. They focus on improving school food and physical activity and their efforts, such as the “Cooking Up Change” culinary competitions for students, have already been showing success in the Chicago area in the past year.

The organization strongly support the First Lady’s efforts and itself has won 2 honorary co-chairs of the Campaign are the Karen Duncan – wife of the Secretary of Education,  and  Christie Vilsack – wife of the Secretary of Agriculture.

According to Rochelle Davis, In many schools today there is a big disconnect between what students are taught is healthy and what they are actually served in school cafeterias.The cheaper foods being served today are the least healthy – full of fat, sodium, and very highly processed. Davis is campaigning in hopes the government will prioritize the funding to be able to pay for healthier foods for school lunch. While she doesn’t expect thing to change overnight, she does believe that raising the awareness level of school administrators, food service directors, and the kids themselves can bring about substantial change, even with small financial increases from the government.

A big question that looms – will kids actually want to eat all the healthy food?

If they don’t like the broccoli at home, why would they eat it at school?

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Here’s an interesting piece from Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert:

Adolescents and young adults are not consuming enough whole grains, say researchers at the University of Minnesota. Their study, which looked at survey data from Project EAT (Eating Among Teens), found that daily intake of whole grains fell below the recommended levels to prevent chronic diseases and maintain a healthy weight.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that at least half of grain servings should come from whole grains, but national survey data say that young people are only consuming 10% of total grains as whole grains.

“This study and others suggest common barriers to whole grain consumption include difficulty with identifying these foods, dislike for their taste, texture, or appearance, a limited availability of whole-grain products in restaurants and at school, and the higher cost for some products compared to refined grains.”

read more…

Why isn’t this surprising?

Young people tend not to think about nutrition as much as adults do. Generally speaking, they care more about good taste and ease of eating. It’s much easier to enjoy sandwich on refined wheat bread than it is on a whole wheat option. In many cases, it’s cheaper too. The texture is softer and we need to chew less, meaning it’s easier to eat more.

This is unfortunate because the earlier in life good habits are formed, the easier it is to live by them as an adult.

According to the study,

Eating breakfast and helping with food shopping and meal preparation increased whole grain consumption in both males and females.

What to do at the supermarket:

If the study’s findings are correct, having your kids come along with you to the supermarket may be a solution. So challenge junior to help you buy healthier foods prepared with whole grains.

In some aisles, it’s not so easy. Some manufacturers call their breads “multi-grain” or state that “made with whole grains”. While this sounds healthy, the breads may in fact contain only a small percentage of whole grain content. Best to find products that are labeled “100% whole wheat”.

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March is National Nutrition Month. It was created in the 1970’s by the American Dietetic Association as a means of raising awareness of nutritious eating and promoting the role of registered dietitians in helping us stay lean and healthy.

The ADA website has a special section dedicated to “NNM”. In it, some  interesting features, including an interactive history of fad diets and a rather lame interactive quiz. Plus a ton of educational materials and suggestions.

What you need to know:

Unfortunately, despite the ADA’s efforts, obesity rates have skyrocketed in the last decades. There are many reasons for this, including gargantuan budgets for marketing by the food industry, versus very tiny budgets of health and diet groups. When was the last time you saw a 30 second commercial for healthy eating? But you mostly likely saw 50 fast food and junk food spots just in the last week.

Additionally, human nature is such that it’s easier to buy cheap and tasty junk food  rather than prepare your own healthy food at home.

Visiting a dietitian for a consultation is so expensive ($100-200 an hour), that most people can’t afford it. Only if you become diabetic or your kidneys fail does your health insurance kick in and allow you to see an RD.

Should the ADA be much more aggressive in its activities and position on diet related issues? Take a look at how PETA manages to create awareness to their cause through creative marketing and absolutely no limitations imposed by industry sponsorships. Unfortunately, the ADA receives donations from corporate sponsors, that may have an effect on the types of messages sent out to the public, and if not that, at least their tone.

Here’s an example:

If you consult with a dietitian wanting to lose weight, one of the first and easiest suggestions is to switch from soft drinks and juices to plain water. However, as a collective, it is hard for the ADA to come out with such a message because the organization is sponsored by Coca Cola and Pepsi. That’s why you’ll get a watered-down message (reverse pun intended) talking about “consuming in moderation”.

What do you think the ADA can do to really make an impact on America’s waistline?

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Dannon, the yogurt maker, has reached a settlement in a class action suit brought against it for falsely representing the health benefits of its products. The company will pay up to $100 to individual consumers who have been misled by its “health claims”. Check if you are eligible here.

According to a report on ABC news:

Dannon must remove the words “clinically” and “scientifically proven” from product labels and advertisements of Activia yogurt in reference to claims the product helps to regulate the digestive system.

Dannon also must note that Activia and DanActive yogurts are food, not treatments or cures for any medical disorder or disease.

Also, Dannon must remove the word “immunity” from DanActive labels and ads, as well as include a qualifier to the claim the yogurt “helps strengthen your body’s defenses” or “helps support the immune system.” read more…

This is a perfect example why NOT to trust what you read on front of package labels.

What you need to know:

Yogurt is very healthy, and was even selected as food of the decade last month. All yogurts have healthy probiotics, it’s just that some get better marketed than others. Since scientists have yet to show how one strain is significantly healthier than another, there is strong reason to believe Dannon was misleading consumers into paying 30% more for its products.

According to the terms of the settlement, Dannon does not have to admit to any wrongdoing. In fact, the company

stands by its advertising and denies it did anything wrong. However, Dannon has settled to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation.

Hmmm, if Dannon truly stood behind its product, it would not have opted to pay $45,000,000 in settlement. It would have gone to court to clear its name. But the company did not want to get distracted….or get too much bad press over the lengthy duration of the trial. Faster to pay up and move on. Especially if you know there are slim chances you’ll win.

Too bad, now we won’t have the opportunity to dig down deep into the science and know once and for all what led the company to behave the way that it did.

Wait. Maybe we do know – more money.

Incidentally, the main issue with most yogurts today is not their bacteria type, but rather their high sugar count and additives that make them more appealing to sweet craving taste buds. Plain yogurt naturally contains 12 grams of sugar in the form of lactose. But on top of that you’ll find 1-4 added teaspoons of sugar depending on the brand and specific flavor. See here and here for an ingredient analysis of popular products.

What to do at the supermarket:

You can do better than buying expensive sugar filled yogurt. Buy plain yogurt, and if you can, choose a large bulk container which is much cheaper. Hardcore yogurt lovers prepare their own at home.

With minimal effort you can upgrade the plain  yogurt into a a truly healthy breakfast or snack. Choose either one or all of the ideas below:

1. toss in diced bananas, strawberries, raisins, nuts, or whatever.

2. stir in a teaspoon of honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup.

3. sprinkle flax seeds into the mix.

Enjoy!

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