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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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091189
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09118900.016
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1990-09-17
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HEALTH, Page 66Battle of the Food BlurbsNever mind the flavor, selling health is what matters
Shopping in a grocery store these days, consumers may wonder
whether they are getting the makings of a meal or taking their
medicine. Packages shout: More calcium! Less sodium! No
cholesterol! Food does not have to taste good, but it must promise
to be good for you.
Last week Kellogg's announced a new breakfast food aimed at
consumers 35 and older. Judging by the package blurbs, the cereal
appears as well stocked with salutary substances as a doctor's
medicine cabinet. The buzz words: "twelve essential vitamins and
minerals," "low sodium," and "high soluble fiber" from oat bran and
the newest candidate for nutritional knighthood, psyllium. Oat bran
can reduce cholesterol levels, and psyllium, a grain grown mainly
in India, may be a more potent cholesterol cutter. Even the
cereal's name has a righteous ring: Heartwise. Kellogg's is playing
catch-upmanship with General Mills, which in April launched its own
oat bran and psyllium cereal, Benefit.
Manufacturers insist that the package labels and advertising
campaigns associated with the new products are educating consumers
about widely accepted dietary principles. Kellogg's argues that it
stops short of making therapeutic claims for its products.
Kellogg's Chairman William LaMothe maintains that the Heartwise
promotion talks in general about the wisdom of lowering cholesterol
in fighting heart disease. "It doesn't imply efficacy in the
product," he declares.
Traditionally, the Food and Drug Administration has not allowed
explicit health claims concerning foods. But it is currently trying
to develop a policy that would permit certain claims on food
labels. Regulators and companies are arguing whether products
containing psyllium can state that they will lower cholesterol. The
FDA last year refused to allow Procter & Gamble to promote its
psyllium-based laxative Metamucil as a cholesterol reducer because
the company did not provide enough evidence to support its claim.
In turn, Procter & Gamble has complained to the FDA that General
Mills should not be allowed to claim that Benefit reduces
cholesterol.
Some organizations, like the National Cancer Institute and the
American Heart Association, believe this type of marketing serves
the public. Many health experts, though, contend that the
promotions prey on consumer fears and can be misleading. Explains
Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest:
"The words may be honest, but the implication may exaggerate the
benefit."
A few food campaigns have been downright deceptive. Muffins
touted for their high oat-bran content are sometimes loaded with
saturated fats. The Federal Trade Commission has accused the
Campbell Soup Co. of claiming that its soups are low in fat and
cholesterol while failing to disclose that they are also high in
salt.
One of the greatest dangers from the new marketing approach may
be that consumers will become inured to health messages altogether
as manufacturers hype one wonder ingredient after another. Says
nutritionist Ann Gaba of Columbia University's Institute of Human
Nutrition: "People get to thinking that there's a food of the month
that is the cure-all." Consumers should remember that good health
comes from a total diet, not an individual product. As Gaba
cautions, "One product is not going to kill you, and one product
is not going to save you."