Kellogg to Improve Nutritional Value of Products

By Ina Woolcott

Kellogg Co., the world's largest cereal maker, has agreed to raise the nutritional value of the cereals and snacks marketed at children. The company said it won't promote foods in TV, print, radio or website advertisements that audiences at least half of whom are under age 12 are privy to, unless a single serving of the product meets the following standards

* A maximum of 200 calories or less

* A maximum of 2 grams or less of saturated fat and NO trans fat

* A maximum of 230 milligrams or less of sodium, excluding Eggo frozen waffles (I have never heard of them!)

* A maximum of 12 grams or less of sugar, not counting sugar from fruit, dairy and vegetables.

The products will be reformulated by the end of 2008 to meet these criteria or stop marketing them to children under 12 by this time.

"By committing to these nutrition standards and marketing reforms, Kellogg has vaulted over the rest of the food industry" states Michael F. Jacobson, who is the executive director of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest. "This commitment means that parents will find it a little easier to steer their children toward healthy food choices, especially if other food manufacturers and broadcasters follow Kellogg's lead."

Jacobson's nutrition advocacy group, together with 2 Massachusetts parents and the Boston-based Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood, had served notice in January 2006 of intent to sue Kellogg and the Nickelodeon cable TV network under a Massachusetts law to stop them from marketing junk foods at kids. The Centre's spokesman Jeff Cronin said Kellogg contacted the plaintiffs following this and began negotiating the new standards. With the above result achieved, the lawsuit was not filed and will not be filed.

"We are pleased to work collaboratively with industry and advocacy groups to unveil these standards," David Mackay, Kellogg's CEO said. "We feel the Kellogg Nutrient Criteria set a new standard for responsibility in the industry."

In 2006 sales reached near $11 billion. Kellogg is not only the top cereal producer, but also a leading producer of snack foods. Some of its brand names include Kellogg's, Pop-Tarts, Eggo, Keebler, Cheez-It, Rice Krispies and Famous Amos.

On a world wide scale, 50% of the products marketed at children by Kellogg don't meet the criteria, said Mark Baynes, Kellogg's chief marketing officer. One-third cereals marketed to children in the U.S. fall below the standards.

Froot Loops and Pop-Tarts don’t meet the before mentioned standards. Most cereals do fall inside the calorie guideline though, Baynes said. Meeting sugar and sodium criteria could be the most challenging.

Kellogg also announced they will continue to stop advertising to children under 6 years, and in the future will not:

* Advertise to children any foods in pre school and schools with children under 12 years

* Sponsor placement of any of its products in any medium chiefly directed at kids under 12 years

* Use branded toys connected to any foods to boost sales that do not meet the nutrition criteria

* Use licensed characters on mass-media ads directed in the main at children under 12 years of age, on the front labels of food packages unless they meet the set criteria. - this doesn't include the marketing characters owned by Kellogg such as Snap, Crackle and Pop orTony the Tiger, but does extend to the characters licensed by the food company such as Shrek.

These characters have a impact on children's lives - they see them every day and have toys of them. Media characters are more powerful than company-owned characters like Tony the Tiger, and food companies want to keep using them because they increase product sales - kids really respond to them.

Early in June 2007, a Federal Trade Commission study showed that half the advertisements for junk food, sugary cereals and soft drinks are on children's programs - twice the percentage 30 years ago! Children between 2 and 11 years old saw around 5,500 food ads on TV in 2004, half of them on kids' shows with an audience made up of 50% children or greater.

American companies spend around $15 billion a year marketing and advertising to children under age 12 - (EDITORS COMMENT: now how SICK is that?!?) - the Institute of Medicine said last year in 2006 when it warned that 1/3 of American children are obese or at risk for becoming obese.

In response to this, Kellogg and McDonald's Corp. joined 8 other major food and drink companies in November 2006 in an industry-sponsored pledge to promote more healthy foods and exercise in their child aimed advertising. The previous year, Kraft Foods Inc. had promised to restrain ads for snack foods aimed at young, including Oreos and Kool-Aid.