WTF | September 05, 2009 | 17 comments

Industry-backed label calls sugary cereal a ‘Smart Choice’

source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/05/business/05smart.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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ajrmy
A new food-labeling campaign called Smart Choices, backed by most of the nation’s largest food manufacturers, is “designed to help shoppers easily identify smarter food and beverage choices.”

The green checkmark label that is starting to show up on store shelves will appear on hundreds of packages, including — to the surprise of many nutritionists — sugar-laden cereals like Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops.
  1. groups:
    WTF,   Health,   FOODIES: UNITE,   The Retail Sector,   2 more
  2. tags:
    FDA,  Nutrition,  Cereal,  smart choices
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17 comments // Industry-backed label calls sugary cereal a ‘Smart Choice’

  • WestmanRandoballet
  • michail77
    • 0
      michail77  

    • Nutrition labels don't tell the whole story. There are many ingredients that should lend themselves to putting a skull and crossbones on the box.

      I always check the ingredient label before purchasing something. One thing I've noticed is that the less marketing on a package usually means a healthier product. However, some companies have recently switched to a tactic of making their boxes look organic like.

    • 2 years ago
  • bailey78
  • Rosenquartz
  • artemis6
    • 0
      artemis6  

    • Sales must be slumping . Good , I wouldn't eat most of that c**p or feed it to my kid . Let their stocks drop , let them rot . Oh wait , too many preservatives . Read the labels . They are not always accurate , but they spell it out clear enough . They want to rob you of your hard earned bread by selling you nutritionless , colorful , poison . They will say what ever it takes in order to do so . I think people are catching on .

    • 2 years ago
  • static_by_design
  • heimbachae
    • 0
      heimbachae  

    • don't they have something like this already.... called the nutrition label.... it's on the box.... just turn it around and do some math people.

    • 2 years ago
  • static_by_design
  • extblues
    • 0
      extblues  

    • "It's good for you because we're experts at telling you it's good for you!"

      As sleazy and underhanded as all this might sound, this is actually a pretty common tactic among marketers and advertisers. Back in the day tobacco companies use to sponsor "expert panels" that "proved" that smoking two packs a day wasn't all that bad for you (...or those around you that shared your two pack a day habit). But, more importantly, it successfully countered for decades the growing mountains of evidence, by real scientists with real facts, that cigarettes killed thousands each year in the eyes (...and lungs) of consumers.

    • 2 years ago
  • TheodoreSouza
  • HEADmc
    • 0
      HEADmc  

    • I especially like the frosted mini wheats commercial that says kids who eat it have a better attention span! Yea cuz they're all hopped up on that sucrose man!!!

    • 2 years ago
  • CarlosIsDown
  • maneatingrobot
  • alivein85
  • EmperorThan
  • PressCore
  • Yecal
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