According to the Smart Choices program website, to qualify for the "Smart Choice" checkmark, "a product must meet a comprehensive set of nutrition criteria based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and other sources of nutrition science and authoritative dietary guidance."
The Smart Choices nutrition labeling campaign was "created by a diverse group of scientists, academicians, health and research organizations, food and beverage manufacturers and retailers. The group worked collaboratively to develop the program's foundation, goals and criteria" and was launched with some fanfare earlier this summer.
Different criteria were established for the 19 different product groups (beverages, soups, dairy products, snacks, etc.). Sounds good doesn't it? Just what consumers need in the grocery aisles: a helping hand to steer them toward "smart" buying and eating habits.
But back in early September, the New York Times reported that high-sugar-content cereals like Froot Loops (41% sugar, by volume) had earned the "Smart Choice" check. How could Froot Loops be a "smart" choice, you ask? Well, according to the nutritionist who heads the program board, it's because it's a smarter choice than doughnuts. Moreover, asserted a Kellogg's senior nutrition executive, "Froot Loops is an excellent source of many essential vitamins and minerals and it is also a good source of fiber..." (Click here for the earlier story.)
Today, William Neuman reported in the Times that the Food and Drug Administration would, early next year, "issue proposed standards that companies must follow in creating nutrition labels that go on the front of food packaging.... [which] could force manufacturers to deliver the bad news with the good, putting an end to a common practice in which manufacturers boast on package fronts about some components, such as vitamins or fiber, while ignoring less appealing ingredients, like added sugar or unhealthy fats."
Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the FDA commissioner, is quoted as "repeatedly" mentioning a British package labeling program "that uses red, yellow or green dots -- like traffic signals -- to indicate the relative amounts of important ingredients" (like saturated fat, salt, or added sugar). This, she said, "could provide a model for the FDA."
What I found particularly interesting, and particularly depressing, about this unfolding story is that Smart Choices itself lists the following principles for developing its goals and criteria: Transparency, Coalition-based, Comprehensive, Applied Voluntarily, and Flexible.
What on earth is "transparent" about presenting a sugary breakfast cereal as a "smart choice"?
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