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2010-10-12 09:06:57
Healthy food
Yuck
Sep 16th 2010
A SERVING of Kraft s Ranch dressing boasts 370mg of sodium and 12g of fat. That
is what nutritionists would describe as far too much and consumers would
describe as yummy . The Kraft food company has brilliant scientists, of
course, so it can easily take the salt out of its dressing. Alas, what remains
tastes horrible.
Dip it in chocolate and we might have a deal
It has been a hectic year for food companies in America. In April the Institute
of Medicine recommended a mandatory limit on the amount of sodium in food. In
May Michelle Obama, who frets that American children are too porky, urged the
industry to create healthy new products. More is to come. The Federal Trade
Commission wants to curb the marketing of unhealthy food to children. The Food
and Drug Administration is developing new labels to help consumers identify
what is good for them. Congress may soon pass a new Child Nutrition Act.
Faced with such scrutiny, firms have made an array of promises. PepsiCo, Kraft,
Kellogg and others have set up a body called the Healthy Weight Commitment
Foundation. In May this coalition promised that by 2015 it would cut 1.5
trillion calories a year from the American market. Mrs Obama applauded.
Science can help. In a sprawling research complex north of Chicago, Kraft s
researchers test new foods and tinker with old recipes. Panellists carefully
analyse each bite for texture and flavour. Kraft promises to reduce the sodium
content of its North American products by an average of 10% by 2012. But will
anyone eat them? It is individuals, not corporations, who hold the nation s
spoons.
Things that are bad for you often taste nice. Remove the fat from cheese and it
becomes crumbly. Replace a biscuit s sugar with artificial sweetener and a
scientist must add ingredients to provide bulk and turn the biscuit s surface
brown. By far the most difficult challenge, however, is cutting sodium. Salt
not only enhances taste but also acts as a preservative and adds texture. New
official guidelines are likely to urge Americans to eat no more than 1,500mg of
sodium each day. Currently they eat more than twice that.
PepsiCo is one of many firms to set ambitious goals for sodium reduction in
March it said it would slash 25% of sodium from its main products by 2015. Some
firms remove salt furtively, since their customers equate low-sodium with
bland . This summer ConAgra, a food giant, cut 29% of the sodium from its Chef
Boyardee Beefaroni, a canned concoction of macaroni and beef, with little
fanfare on the label. Campbell s, another canned-food maker, touts its sodium
reductions, but few others do. Charles Vila, vice-president of consumer
insights at Campbell s, describes the shift to less salty nosh as one of the
firm s most important changes since easy-open cans.
Further sodium reductions, however, will be more difficult. In July Kraft
launched a new version of its Oscar Mayer ham, with 37% less sodium. Any less
salt and the ham would be reduced to a rubbery slab. Rhonda Jordan, Kraft s
president of health and wellness, puts the problem simply. You can t ask
consumers to eat foods they don t like.
More than 90% of Americans say that it is somewhat or extremely important
to eat healthily, according to the 2009 Healthy Eating Trends survey. But
consumers swing from fad to fad. In the early 1990s they worried about
saturated fat. In the noughties they shunned carbohydrates. Today they clamour
for firms to add fibre, omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics and whole grains to
their products. This can have odd results, such as General Mills whole-grain
Cocoa Puffs.
For most consumers, a foodstuff s nutritional value is not the main reason for
buying it. Over the past 20 years, according to Harry Balzer of NPD, a research
firm, the main shift in American eating habits has been from foods that must be
prepared (such as pot roast and peas) to those that are convenient (such as
pizza and frozen sandwiches). Kraft may be investing in healthy foods more than
half of its new products in the past year were in the health and wellness
category. But the company is also energetically marketing an expanded line of
Macaroni & Cheese.
Taste, value and convenience are most important to the consumer, Mr Balzer
says. Healthy and nutritious are secondary considerations. Americans know
they should eat vegetables, but would prefer not to spend much money on them,
prepare them or taste them. Campbell s may have the most ingenious new product
on the market: a can of V8 V-Fusion hides a serving of vegetables in a fruity
drink. It is just the right size to fit in a lunch box, next to the crisps.