KRAFT KAVES! Maker of Oreos to Revamp Products: Cites Obesity

Associated Press -- "Kraft to Revamp Products: Cites Obesity" ^ | July 1, 2003 | Deborah Cohen

[L.N. Smithee]

By Deborah Cohen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kraft Foods Inc., the biggest U.S. maker of processed foods, on Tuesday said it would cap portion sizes, eliminate marketing in schools and reformulate some products as the food industry faces increasing legal blame for obesity and unhealthy eating trends.

The maker of Oreo cookies and Velveeta cheese spreads said this year it will develop a range of standards to improve the overall nutritional content of its products and the way it sells them. It will begin making changes to the way it manufactures and markets foods beginning next year.

The cost of the measures, which are sweeping, could not be estimated, according to a spokesman for the company, based in the Chicago suburb of Northfield, Illinois.

Critics are quick to point out that Kraft may be on the defensive at a time of heightened criticism over the role big food companies play in contributing to growing health problems in the United States. No. 1 fast-food chain McDonald's Corp. has already been the target of a highly publicized lawsuit linking its burgers to obesity in children.

"This is sort of a preemptive move to stave off the lawyers and the critics," said Henry Anhalt, an endocrinologist and director of the "Kids Weight Down" program at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.

"What I think is going on is that the soothsayers are saying that coming down the pike are going to be large lawsuits, class action suits looking at cardiovascular disease, premature death, diabetes, and they're going to turn to the food industry and lay it on their feet," he said.

Still, he applauded Kraft for making changes that he believes will make a difference. Kraft could set standards that other major food companies could follow.

Obesity among adults in the United States has doubled since 1980, and tripled among adolescents, according to the U.S. surgeon general.

Kraft acknowledged that the moves may in part help indemnify the company against potential lawsuits.

"We're making these commitments first and foremost because we think it is the right thing to do for the people who use our products and for our business, but if it also discourages a plaintiff's attorney or unfair legislation, that's fine with us." said Michael Mudd, a Kraft spokesman.

GLOBAL EFFORTS

Kraft said its efforts would be global, focusing on product nutrition, marketing practices, information for consumers and public advocacy. It is forming an advisory council to help develop standards for the company's approach to health issues.

Marketing fatty and sugar-laden foods to children has been a hot-button in the news. Last week, New York City's school system decided to remove candy, soda and sweet snacks from school vending machines.

Last month, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) said that agency plans to push for expanded nutritional labeling on food products.

Kraft said the changes it will make will include advertising and marketing to children to encourage appropriate eating behaviors and active lifestyles.

The company, which used to promote its products on Channel One, a news channel played in secondary schools, will now cease all in-school marketing.

Other big food industry players are also taking defensive measures. McDonald's in March announced worldwide initiatives to help promote healthy lifestyles and provide consumers with expanded product information. It has also assembled an advisory council.

"This is an ongoing battle," said Keith Patriquin, a buy-side analyst with Loomis Sayles, which holds shares of Kraft and other big food names. "Trial lawyers ... are looking for the next big thing."

Earlier this year, a lawsuit was filed in California seeking to ban Kraft's Oreo cookies. The suit, which drew criticism in legal circles for potentially abusing the U.S. court system, was withdrawn less than two weeks later.

Shares of Kraft, which is majority owned by tobacco giant Altria Group Inc., were off 25 cents at $34.30 in mid-morning New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) trading. (With reporting by Brad Dorfman in Chicago)

[Shooter 2.5]

Dorritos, WOW chips and Pop-Tarts are all loaded with it.

I had a steady diet of the stuff but I thought I was OK because it was all low fat stuff.

Sometimes I think they go out of their way to screw things up. I told that to a friend of mine that the food companies can't leave a good thing alone. I told him that while he was opening up a jar of V-Eight. How can they screw something like that up? It's loaded with Salt. If you get the low-Salt variety, they had a little notice under the cap. It said added with Vodka, it makes great Bloody Marys.

[dfwgator]

I'm not really partial to Macaroni and Cheese, but you never know...perhaps that is next (they are made by kraft you know). I'm just waiting to hear the government finally tell us what we can and cannot eat. Grrrr....

If they mess with "Kraft Dinners" the Canadians are going to revolt, it's their national dish.

[adam_az]

bump!!!!

in n out RULES!!!!

[RetiredArmy]

I am sure you probably feel much the same way as I in that Americans have simply become the blame game. The loss of being responsible for ones actions, being credited with the blame as well as the credit for the good. I am simply amazed some times that we actually are still standing and have not been overrun by some stronger country. We have become so absorbed with me, me, me of this generation, I am just sick of it.

[MarkL]

Do they really still do that? Where?

It's been a few years, but the only place I ever saw it was in a Kosher butcher shop, that only dealt with kosher foods and household items, like soap, cleaners, and pet food.

Mark

[Not Fooled]

Exactly what I thought. As it stands I have to use 2 packs of Easy Mac to get my fill. And I'm a skinny dude!

[MarkL]

Lamars Donuts are great! Not too many people know about them..

thank goodness that the one near my house stopped making their French Creullers. Those really ARE addictive!

Mark

[honeygrl]

"Get the kids out of the house and into sports or outdoor games and you won't see huge kids anymore!

Oh, one other thing - WE WALKED to places that weren't too far!! We didn't get rides everywhere like kids do nowadays! "

That fact is, that's just not safe anymore in a lot of places. I wouldn't even go walking around my neighborhood myself alone, muchless let my kids go out and do it, even with other kids around.

[adam_az]

Atkins is great, but you have to buy the book and read it, and not rely on hearsay.

If I had a nickel for everyone who has told me they "tried Atkins but gained weight" but thought they didn't need to read the book because they saw a 3 minute short on CNN about it... I'd have at least a buck fifty.

[MarkL]

Yes, it really does! See my post, # 117 and 201!

Mark

[honeygrl]

"I've never had a Krispy Kreme. Are they really that good? "

They are melt-in-your-mouth bites of heaven.

[L.N. Smithee]

I went to lunch with a plus-sized woman once. We ordered meal-sized salads. I had mine with an unsweetened iced tea. She had hers with a large order of fries and a big soda. Then she sat there and told me about how her thyroid was making her heavy. It's never their fault of course. >:(

I have had nearly the same experience of having to listen to a morbidly obese person talk about how their bodies are to blame and not their lack of will power or self-control. Nearly half of all the people I have ever known who fit that description have lost a hundred pounds or more by changing their diets and exercising more.

We've all seen the talk shows in which there is some person who is 400 pounds or more, and s/he can't get out of bed on his/her own. No one gets that fat alone. Without fail, there is someone who loves that person who serves as a facilitator, bringing high-chol, high-sugar, high-fat foods -- and lots of it -- to his/her bedside.

[areafiftyone]

That fact is, that's just not safe anymore in a lot of places. I wouldn't even go walking around my neighborhood myself alone, muchless let my kids go out and do it, even with other kids around.

Well you have a point there. The problem is - no one is outside anymore. I drive thru nice beautiful safe neighborhoods and nobody is outside. Beautiful houses but they have this noone is home look to them. Everyone is either in their cars or indoors watching TV. When I was growing up the whole neighborhood was outside doing something. You always saw someone you knew either down the block or outside watching. It's a shame kids have to be cooped up until their parents can take them somewhere or drop them off somewhere. Times have changed so much - it's scary. We are living in fear and we need to take back our neighborhoods from the creeps.

[appalachian_dweller]

>> Block just one of those veins and you kill the muscle. That's called a heart attack. <<

Seeing as how both my parents (both deceased now) suffered though heart disease I'm very familiar with what a heart attack is.

Okay, here comes the rant: We have a nation of people who are not responsible for what they do. I'm too fat...it must be someone else's fault. I have lung cancer...it must be the tobacco company's fault. I drank, drove, wrecked my car and killed someone...it was the bartenders fault. Any problems I have are due to someone else.

LISTEN UP: Any problems you have (being fat for example) are YOUR PROBLEMS. No one put a gun to your head or a knife to your throat and MADE you eat, drink, or smoke anything you didn't want to. If it makes you sick, fat, or wreck your car, IT'S YOUR FAULT!! Stop blaming your personal short comings on everyone and everything else around you. Take some responsibility!

With Freedom comes Responsibility. Today's society doesn't want the responsibility and they're willing to sacrifice MY freedoms to shun that responsibility.

It's pathetic. It's dangerous. It will be the undoing of this country.

/rant off

[Laura Earl]

Good rant!

[honeygrl]

"Coca Cola make a "Kosher for Passover" version of their Coke that uses sugar as the sweetner, not the high fructose corn syrup that their "regular" coke uses. They taste WAY different, with the sugar sweetened soda tasting much better."

Oh I would looove to try that version of Coke but I've never seen it...

[Arkinsaw]

I have no problem eating fast food either, the taste is acceptable to me, I like Wendy's hamburgers. But I like to support small business and especially local business.

I go to a local pharmacy rather than Wal-Mart. It costs a little more of course, but my pharmacist is a small business owner, knows the business and cares about it, and there are benefits to that also.

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

Industry is just as guilty as the lawsuit thieves.It is time to stop caving in to "COURTROOM THEFT"!It is time to stop allowing a mere handful of people dictate to the majority.

[Shooter 2.5]

You're correct until the food industries start to put hidden dangers into the food. Fat kills so what happens when they take the fat out? It should be safe then, right?
It would be as though the tobacco companies found a substitute for nicotine and years later found the substitute killed faster than the old cigarettes.

That is where we are right now. The bottom line is no fast food, processed food or junk food can ever be trusted. It should all be eliminated by the people who want to live a healthy life.

[MarkL]

Oh I would looove to try that version of Coke but I've never seen it...

Your best bet is to contact a Coke distributer a few weeks before Easter, and ask where you can find the "Kosher for Passover" Coke.

Mark