Kellogg's Asks for a Froot Loops Correction: More on Smart (?) Choices

Earlier this week, I received a phone call from Dr. Celeste Clark, Kellogg's senior vice president for global nutrition, corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer.

She had seen my previous blog post on the Smart Choices program, and wanted me to know that Froot Loops has been reformulated to contain 3 grams of fiber, not less than 1 gram, as I had posted, and that in all fairness, I ought to post the new version. Sure. Happy to. Here it is.

This higher fiber product, of course, gets us into the philosophical question: Is a somewhat-better-for-you, highly processed food really a good choice? Does the additional 2.5 grams of fiber convert this product to a health food? Whether Froot Loops really is a better choice than a doughnut as the Smart Choices program contends, seems debatable.

If I read the Nutrition Facts and ingredient list correctly, Froot Loops cereal contains:

• No fruit

• Sugar as the first ingredient (meaning the highest in weight-41%)

• Sugar as 44% of the calories

• Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and, therefore, trans fat (although less than half a gram per serving so the label can read zero)

But with an implied endorsement from the American Society of Nutrition, which is managing the Smart Choices program, I guess none of that matters. Or maybe the added fiber cancels all that out?

I pointed out to Dr. Clark that I had just bought the fiberless Froot Loops at a grocery store in midtown Manhattan, which means the old packages must still be on the market.

I discussed this and other such products with William Neuman of the New York Times whose reporting on the Smart Choices program appears on the front page of today's business section under the title, "For your health, Froot Loops. Industry-backed label calls sugary cereal a 'Smart Choice.'"

According to his well reported account, Kellogg's and other participating companies pay up to $100,000 for that seal. No wonder the American Society of Nutrition and everyone else involved in the program want to set nutrition standards so loosely that they can encompass as many products as possible. The more products that qualify for the Smart Choices logo, the more money the program gets. I'd call that a clear conflict of interest.

Neuman managed to find nutritionists who defend the program. I am not one of them.

Follow Marion Nestle on Twitter: www.twitter.com/marionnestle

Comments

[bodwisteve]

10:57 PM on 09/17/2009

as to the discussion about fiber in a high sugar product. I have personally had very good luck with selecting products that I know I will eat and like AND that have a reasonably high fiber content. Crackers are a good example. Fiber bars like 'fiber one' are a good example. For awhile Silk brand soy milk had a high fiber version. Tortillas and breads are also good examples. Frosted Mini-Wheats is a good example. V8 has a fiber added version. What it does for me is slow down digestion so that the energies from what I eat go into my bloodstream over a longer period of time. At least that is what I think is happening. My height is 5' 11" and I am able to maintain a stable weight between 148 and 153 pounds. Of course, if I eat high fat foods, or salty foods, or have more alcohol on a particular day then I see my weight go up slightly. But by choosing to have fiber rich things in my daily routine then it swings back into normal territory in a day or two. I applaud any manufacturer who produces alternatives with more than average amounts of fiber. 3-9 grams per serving is the window I look for. And yes, I know it would be better for me to eat more fruits and vegetables; but I know I won't sustain that habit. Maybe someday.

[Joseph Joyal]

04:57 PM on 09/08/2009

Ya but Froot Loops TASTE GOOD!!! and nobody really buys Froot Loops for healthly food, You buy it because the KIDS want it!!!
Get real, there has to be something important to write about.

[Thermodynamics]

10:29 AM on 09/07/2009

As Marion Nestle pointed out, food with less than 1/2 gram of trans fat per serving can be labeled as "zero trans fat".
So the big bag of chips (8 servings) that you dump in the bowl on the coffee table might have almost 4 grams of trans fat.

Discussion of trans fats gets complicated but the ones in chips are synthetic (from heating and partially hydrogenating oil), and don't exactly work when plugged into human chemistry. It's like mixing mis-made keys in with the household and car keys you carry around.

We need better labeling laws. If you are lactose intolerant you do not want 4/10 gram of lactose passed off as zero lactose.