The Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy is one of the nation’s foremost leaders in the field of nutrition. They are hosting the 4th annual Friedman Symposium this weekend, a 2 day affair devoted to current affairs in the nutrition and diet arena.

Fooducate was lucky to partake in the conference as an online participant. (thank you Mark Krumm,  Director, Events & Marketing at Tufts, for helping set us up).

Judging from the titles and professional experience of the presenters and lecturers present, the people seated at the Jaharis Conference Center represented a highly capable group. Could some magic happen here that would help put America back on the health track? Read more…

We’ve been following developments in nutrition rating schemes and front of package labeling for quite some time. Smart Choices is a labeling system that informs consumers which products are a nutritious choice using a green check mark as a quick glance visual cue. The selection criteria is based on nutrients in the foods, and has been defined by the food industry together with nutrition experts. This bias has created an unobjective system, whose purpose is to help sell more products under the guise of nutrition and health.

Here is a perfect example – Smart Choices has recently been spotted in supermarkets across the country on products such as breakfast cereals, including the sugary kid stuff. If we needed any further proof that this benchmark system is NOT IN THE HEALTH INTEREST of consumers,  take a look at Froot Loops, which has received the coveted “Smart Choice” checkmark. Froot Loops is manufactured by Kellogg’s, one of the members of Smart Choices.

What you need to know:

Let’s look at the Ingredient List and Nutrition Panel:

Sugar, Corn Flour, Wheat Flour, Whole Oat Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (One or More of: Coconut, Cottonseed, and Soybean) (Less than 0.5 g Trans Fat Per Serving), Salt, Sodium Ascorbate and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Reduced Iron, Natural Orange, Lemon, Cherry, Raspberry, Blueberry, Lime, and Other Natural Flavors, Red No. 40, Blue No. 2, Yellow No. 6, Zinc Oxide, Niacinamide, Turmeric Color, Blue No. 1, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Palmitate, Annatto Color, BHT (Preservative), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12.

The first ingredient is sugar! In fact, Froot Loops is 41% sugar by weight. And Whoa(!) partially hydrogenate vegetable oil too. Doesn’t sound like a smart choice to us. A 1 oz serving (which by the way is too small for regular people) contains 12 grams of sugar – that’s 3 teaspoons. 48 of the 110 calories per serving are from sugar.

And check out the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil – that’s trans fat folks, even if there is less than half a gram per serving, it adds up to 8 grams in a box. People should not consume ANY trans fat during the day.

Additionally, there is less than 1 oz of fiber per serving, and as you probably know, breakfast cereals are expected to be an important source of fiber.

The rainbow of artificial colors (Red No. 40, Blue No. 2, Yellow No. 6) are of a dubious nature, as some may contribute to hyperactivity in kids. Europe is twisting manufacturers’ arms to get rid of the colors voluntarily.

And another note, on marketing to kids. Froot Loops, like many other kids focused “food”, has a thoroughly entertaining website filled with games and activities, all of which are embedded with froot loops and other branding messages. What a way to burn a brand into our children’s young and impressionable minds. To ease some corporate guilt, or most likely at the advice of their legal team, Kellogg’s has a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the page that we’re sure all kids read before playing:

KIDS: This page may contain a product or promotion advertisement.
Remember, you should get a parent’s permission before you try to buy anything online or give information about yourself.

Please, please food industry executives – stop indoctrinating our children to eat crap. You have kids too!

What to do at the supermarket:

Do not trust health claims or cutesy checkmarks and recommendations on product packages. Look at the ingredient list and the nutrition panel. There should be less than 6 grams of sugar per serving, 3 grams or more of fiber, NO partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, and no artificial food colorings.

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Unilever, uber food conglomerate, will stop using trans fat in its margarine spreads as soon as next month, according to an article in USA Today. This is great news for consumers, because Unilever is the number one seller of margarine tubs and spreads. It’s top brands are I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and Shedd’s Spread Country Crock.

“I call this the death knell for trans fats,” says Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at New York University.

The elimination of trans fats from the U.S. diet “should be written up as a business school case and studied,” says Michael Jacobson, director of advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has pushed for it. Trans fats have been reduced more than 70% in three years, he says.

read the entire article…

What you need to know:

Trans Fat is just plain EVIL. It has been unequivocally shown to increase the chances of heart disease because it raises the levels of LDL, the bad cholesterol, in our bloodstream. This leads to clogged arteries and other precursors of coronary ailments.

Trans fat is mostly man-made, and found in hydrogenated oils. These are vegetable oils that are “bombed” with hydrogen atoms in a process that makes them solid at room temperature.

The FDA has been requiring manufacturers to post product trans fat content on nutrition labels ever since 2006. Since then, lo and behold, trans fat is disappearing at a rapid pace.

Makes you wonder what would happen if the FDA would require labeling of ADDED SUGAR in products.

What to do at the supermarket:

You’re not 100% safe yet. There is still an irritating loophole though, whereby up to half a gram of trans fat can legally be labeled as 0. So in addition to checking the nutrition panel for 0 trans fat, look at the ingredient list to make sure there are no “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils“.

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Health claims on processed food packages are usually nothing more than marketing messages. So when Kellogg’s plasters the word “IMMUNITY” in quadruple font on the front of its Rice Krispies breakfast cereal, we just have to take a peek (thanks to Fooducate reader TD for the heads up).

We took a look at the product nutrition information and at the Rice Krispies website. We’re not sure if this is a new formulation or just a new marketing campaign, but this is what Kellogg’s boasts:

“Now each and every box is fortified with vitamins and nutrients that work together to help support your child’s immunity.”

“The cereal you love, invisibly better”.

Great pitch folks. Now let’s analyze the facts…

Read more…

It was a rough start of the year for the peanut butter industry. A major recall, one of the largest in US history, sent sales of all products, even innocent ones, down. But now sales are on the rebound, according to the latest market studies. White breads and jellies across the nation are rejoicing…

In celebration, we decide to take a look at what looks like a nutritious choice – Skippy’s Natural Peanut Butter Spread.

If the label says it’s natural, it must be healthy, right?

Read more…