{"id":3479,"date":"2015-04-27T10:37:46","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T17:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lifeandhealth.wordifysites.com\/?p=3479"},"modified":"2021-09-29T13:13:53","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T20:13:53","slug":"can-kids-eat-right-point-us-toward-healthy-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/food\/nutrition\/can-kids-eat-right-point-us-toward-healthy-food\/103479.html","title":{"rendered":"Can “Kids Eat Right” Point Us Toward Healthy Food?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was under the impression that our nation\u2019s concept of health has been improving? Health is a consistent hot topic in the news, sales of kale continue to increase, soda sales are down, and more and more restaurants are offering vegetarian or vegan options on their menus. So what is up with Kraft Singles becoming the first product allowed to bear the \u201cKids Eat Right\u201d label?[1]\n<\/sup><\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t heard of it, the \u201cKids Eat Right\u201d initiative was designed to aid health-conscious parents in purchasing nutritious food for their children. It was launched by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the \u201cAcademy\u201d), a trade group that represents over 75,000 registered dietitians and other professionals in the field.[2]<\/sup> The label sounds like a good idea, but if their first foray into product selection is any indication of what\u2019s to come, let\u2019s hope it doesn\u2019t catch on.<\/p>\n

Kraft is a company well known for producing products full of added sodium, fat, colorings, and preservatives.[3]<\/sup> Their flagship, plasticky Kraft Singles are a perfect example of this. In fact, Kraft Singles are so processed they are not even considered \u201ccheese\u201d by the FDA. According to their standards, a food labeled as \u201ccheese\u201d must contain at least 51% cheese. This is why Singles are labeled as a \u201cpasteurized prepared cheese product\u201d.[4]<\/sup> The ironic thing is that Kraft didn\u2019t even try to use the \u201cKids Eat Right\u201d label on a healthier product first\u2014like a granola bar. Instead, they went straight to their flagship, individually plastic-wrapped cheese-like slices.<\/p>\n

When the news broke, it didn\u2019t take long for people to voice their concern. Kraft Singles? Seriously? How could the Academy let this happen? In a country attempting to correct many poor eating habits and erroneous nutritional ideas, especially among children, giving a processed cheese the nutritional seal of approval was bound to cause controversy.<\/p>\n

In response to the criticism, the Academy was quick to clarify that, \u201cKraft is putting the ‘Kids Eat Right’ logo saying Kraft is a proud supporter of Kids Eat Right, not vice versa.\u00a0The Academy has never endorsed any product, brand or service, and we never will.\u201d[5]<\/sup> This is a confusing response. They are denying what clearly looks like their endorsement of a Kraft product. It seems obvious that the Academy is trying to save face in response to the public outcry.<\/p>\n

Actually, this story is not unusual. The Academy has a history of ties to big food companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, General Mills, and Monsanto.[6]<\/sup> This is not the first time these questionable connections have caused concern. In fact, disenchanted Academy members\u2014concerned about the impact of mega-corporation sponsorships\u2014founded the appropriately named Dietitians for Professional Integrity.[7]<\/sup> Upon hearing the Kraft Singles news, Andy Bellatti, the founder of Dietitians for Professional Integrity, remarked, \u201cYou would think an organization [the Academy] that has come under fire for so many years for its relations with food companies might pick something other than a highly processed cheese product for its first endorsement\u201d.[8]<\/sup><\/p>\n

Bellatti has had his hands full recently. Besides the battle on the processed cheese front, Coca-Cola was recently involved in a comparable controversy. A new report found that the company has been paying fitness and nutrition experts to recommend its soda as a healthy snack.[9]<\/sup> Although the recommended product was a mini can (7.5 oz), it doesn\u2019t change the fact that 100% of the drink’s calories come from high fructose corn syrup. Commenting on the Coke situation, Bellatti said that companies court dietitians as a way to validate their corporate messages.[10]<\/sup><\/p>\n

So what can we take away from this situation? First, we need to be wary of the marketing we see on food packages. It is not a surprise that food companies seek to present their foods as healthy choices, but we need to be aware of the Health Halos<\/a> that are often touted. Second, we need to realize that big food companies have a lot of money and influence. Since they fund many scientific studies conducted on food and nutrition, it\u2019s not unlikely that bias may sometimes find its way into these studies. Third, we need to use common sense. If you don\u2019t think a food is healthy, it probably isn\u2019t. In general, make an effort to stick with fresh, unprocessed, whole foods. Finally, no matter how many people tell you something, you need to think a little about the science or reasoning behind it.<\/p>\n

In a strange way, we should be thankful for Kids Eat Right. They serve as an excellent reminder to not let marketing fool us into poor nutrition!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n[1] \u201cA Cheese \u2018Product\u2019 Gains Kids\u2019 Nutrition Seal.\u201d Well<\/em>. Accessed March 16, 2015. http:\/\/well.blogs.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/12\/a-cheese-product-wins-kids-nutrition-seal\/.<\/p>\n[2] Ibid.<\/p>\n[3] Bushak, Lecia. \u201cNutritionists Dub Kraft Singles Healthy For Kids, Confusing Everyone.\u201d Medical Daily<\/em>, March 14, 2015. http:\/\/www.medicaldaily.com\/nutritionists-gave-kraft-singles-kids-eat-right-label-and-no-one-really-knows-why-325748.<\/p>\n[4] \u201cKraft Singles Are Not Actually Cheese, But They\u2019re Apparently A Health Food Now.\u201d The Huffington Post<\/em>. http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2015\/03\/16\/kraft-singles-kids-eat-right_n_6879658.html.<\/p>\n[5] \u201cKraft Singles Is First Food Allowed to Display \u2018Kids Eat Right\u2019 Logo.\u201d FoxNews.com<\/em>, March 16, 2015. http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/leisure\/2015\/03\/16\/kraft-singles-receives-first-kids-nutrition-seal-from-national-dietician-group\/.<\/p>\n[6] \u201cLearn the Issues.\u201d Dietitians for Professional Integrity<\/em>, http:\/\/integritydietitians.org\/resources\/learn-the-issues.<\/p>\n[7] Ibid.<\/p>\n[8] \u201cA Cheese \u2018Product\u2019 Gains Kids\u2019 Nutrition Seal.\u201d Well<\/em>. Accessed March 16, 2015. http:\/\/well.blogs.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/12\/a-cheese-product-wins-kids-nutrition-seal\/.<\/p>\n[9] \u201cCoca-Cola Pays Health Experts to Suggest Soda as a Healthy Snack.\u201d Accessed March 18, 2015. http:\/\/rt.com\/usa\/241317-coca-cola-health-experts-paid\/.<\/p>\n[10] \u201cTheHeraldBusinessJournal.com – Coke a Good Snack? Health Experts Who Work with Coke Say so.\u201d The Herald Business Journal<\/em>. Accessed March 18, 2015. http:\/\/www.theheraldbusinessjournal.com\/article\/20150316\/BIZ02\/150319339.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was under the impression that our nation\u2019s concept of health has been improving? Health is a consistent hot topic in the news, sales of kale continue to increase, soda sales are down, and more and more restaurants are offering vegetarian or vegan options on their menus. So what is up with Kraft Singles becoming…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":4458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-3479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition","post_format-post-format-image"],"acf":[],"views":2015,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3479"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3504,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3479\/revisions\/3504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3479"},{"taxonomy":"thb-sponsors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thb-sponsors?post=3479"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeandhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}