In Great Britain, at least, supermarkets promote junk foods more than they promote healthy foods.

No surprise.  Junk foods are more profitable!

A recent study did something useful.  It examined the nutritional quality of more than 2000 foods with or without health-related claims.

As compared with food products without health claims, foods with health claims had, on average, per serving:

• 29 fewer calories
• 3 grams less sugar
• 2 grams less saturated fat
• 842 mg less sodium
• 0.8 grams more fiber

The authors conclude:

Foods carrying health-related claims have marginally better nutrition profiles than those that do not carry claims…It is unclear whether these relatively small differences have significant impacts on health.

Unclear?  Most of these are barely measurable.  Only the sodium reduction might help.

This study confirms the following:

• Health claims on food packages are not about health; they are about marketing.
• Just because a food product is slightly better for you does not necessarily mean that it is a good choice.

JAMA Pediatrics has just published a report that cases of marijuana intoxication in young children has increased since the drug was legalized in Colorado.  The authors are careful to note that the number of cases is small relative to those that occur in kids consuming pharmaceutical drugs or household cleaning products, but the trend is not good.

Nearly half the cases occurred in kids eating foods in which THC (tetrahydrocannibinaol) is a prominent ingredient:

Known marijuana products involved in the exposure included 30 infused edible products (48%): 17 baked goods (cookies, brownies, and cake), 10 candies, and 2 popcorn products…. Ingestion of edible products continues to be a major source of marijuana exposures in children and poses a unique problem because no other drug is infused into a palatable and appetizing form. These palatable products are often indistinguishable from the noninfused products.

Dosing a drug in a “serving size” less than typically recommended for an equivalent food product also can be a source of confusion. For example, a marijuana chocolate bar can contain multiple 10-mg THC single-dose units. In adults, overconsumption of edible projects is associated with an increase in ED visits resulting from dysphoric reactions, panic attacks, and anxiety. Edibles have also been blamed for 3 adult deaths in Colorado.

Pot-laced popcorn?

One concern is that the infused edibles look like normal foods.  You have to read the fine print to see the THC label.

And they are not likely to go away.  THC-edibles are big business.  They accounted for 45% of marijuana sales last year, according to the Denver Post.

Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Denver Health Medical Center…estimated there was a fivefold to tenfold increase in the number of patients — including a sharp rise in the number of adolescents and teenagers — arriving at the hospital after consuming part or all of a marijuana edible.

Colwell said he expected an increase in the number of marijuana cases. But he said he was surprised and concerned with the higher potency of THC in the edibles and the more severe symptoms it can cause.

Users: be careful.

Parents: keep the brownies away from kids.

I’m guessing we will be hearing  a lot more about this issue.

McDonald’s ran a full-page ad in yesterday’s New York Times:*

“At McDonald’s we’re on a journey: What’s important to you is important to us.”

The ad says McDonald’s is taking these actions [with my comments]:

• Removed artificial preservatives from Chicken McNuggets and other items [Fine, but no big deal in my book.]
• Removed high fructose corn syrup from hamburger buns [And replaced it with what?  Sugar?  This matters? I’m guessing the price of HFCS must be close enough to the price of sugar to make this possible.]**
• Committed to only source chickens that have not been treated with antibiotics [OK.  Now we’re talking important.  For this alone,  McDonald’s deserves high praise.  My only question: by when?]*** 

The ad also summarizes the company’s additional actions, done and promised:

• Burgers are 100% beef
• Eggs are freshly cracked
• Salads feature baby spinach, kale, Tuscan red leaf lettuce, and carrots
• Buttermilk chicken uses real buttermilk
• Milk is sourced from cows not treated with rbST
• 2 billion sides of fruit were served (including 59 million clementines)
• Espresso beans are Rainforest Alliance Certified
• Eggs will be cage-free by 2025

Amazing, no?

It’s worth a field trip to see how all this works in practice.  I’m on it.

Additions, corrections, and updates

*Jill Cornish writes that the ad also appeared in the Washington Post.

**I get a Bingo for this one.  Martijn Katan writes: “The price of beet sugar fell below that of HCFS in April 2015. By June 2016, 1 lb of HFCS-55 cost $0.412 as opposed to $0.297 for beet sugar.”  He even sends a reference: www.cornnaturally.com/Economics-of-HFCS/price-calculator.aspx

***Andy Smith points out that “In 2015, McDonald’s announced that it would stop buying chicken raised with non-therapeutic, medically-important antibiotics by 2017– but a few weeks ago announced that it had already done so.”  He too provides a reference: See QSR. “McDonald’s Eliminates Antibiotics From Its Chicken,” QSR Magazine, August 2, 2016. Retrieved at https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/eliminates-antibiotics-its-chicken.

Thank you readers!  Much appreciated.

Two items in the case against excessive consumption of sugary beverages:

More ties to Coca-Cola at CDC

Carey Gillam, the research director for U.S. Right to Know, has been busy delving through e-mails between officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Coca-Cola.

Her previous story was followed by that official’s retirement.

This one identifies another CDC official with “a history of promoting and helping lead research funded by Coca-Cola.”

I’m quoted in the article:

Officials of public health agencies run the risk of cooptation, capture, or conflict of interest when they have close professional ties with companies whose job it is to sell food products, regardless of the effects of those products on health.

Calls for warning labels

Dean Schillinger, a doctor at UCSF and CSPI’s Michael Jacobson have co-authored an article in JAMA calling for warning labels on advertisements for sugary drinks—something that is being tried in San Francisco, albeit in the face of legal challenges.

So far, the courts have upheld the warning labels.    The authors conclude:

Implementing such policies could benefit all US residents, but could especially benefit socioeconomically vulnerable populations, including children, some of whom are exposed to a disproportionate volume of SSB advertising and often purchase these products at high rates and experience the greatest risk of chronic diseases. The decision in American Beverage Association (ABA) et al v City & County of San Francisco, if upheld by the appellate court, provides a pivotal legal precedent that could influence public health policy at local, state, and national levels related to communicating the health risks inherent to SSBs and other products.

Food Navigator is an industry newsletter with articles about topics of interest to food companies.  This is one of its occasional collections of columns on a particular topic, in this case, beans, seeds, and grains.

Beans, chickpeas, peas and lentils are now appearing as added value ingredients in every part of the store, from chips and snacks to salads, soups, pastas, dips and baked goods. Non-GMO, gluten-free, high in protein, fiber and micronutrients, and low in fat, beans in particular are undergoing a PR renaissance among consumers, who have been eating them for years in tacos and burritos, but now see them as a more wholesome alternative to soy, rice, corn and potatoes in their snacks. So where will they go next, and who is driving innovation, both from a formulation, and branding perspective? We also take a look at ancient and ‘heirloom’ beans and grains.

•  Manufacturers answer FAO’s call to increase pulse consumption in 2016 with new bean-based snacks: In declaring 2016 the year of the pulse, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN issued a call to action to increase the consumption and popularity of legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and beans which are under used in the US… Watch now
• How consumer demand is resurrecting ancient grains from the past: Data from SPINS reveals that sales of products featuring ‘ancient grains’ grew 16.6% year-over-year to $198,884,358 in 2016… Read
• Rancho Gordo brings heirloom beans to American doorsteps: Working with farmers from Central California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, and Mexico, Napa-based Rancho Gordo is resurrecting long-forgotten beans and bringing them back to the American table…Read
• Modern Table Meals serves up bean pasta as meal kits or plain: The team of moms is cornering the category with a double whammy-pulse-based pasta for both the time-strapped parent and the aspiring chef with more time on their hands… Read
• The Good Bean rides bean-based snacking wave in the Year of the Pulse: The Good Bean – a Berkley-based snack brand built around the garbanzo bean (chickpea) – more than doubled its sales in 2015 and expects to do so again in 2016 as pulse-based snacking (beans, peas, lentils) gains momentum. .. Read
• US volumes of pulses surge 8% in 2015, outpacing overall fresh food growth of 1%: Volumes of pulses (defined as leguminous crops – beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils – harvested for dry grains) surged 8% in the US in 2015, while overall volumes of fresh food (retail, foodservice, institutional channels combined) grew by a more modest 1%, according to Euromonitor International… Read
• Beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas: The hottest ingredients in the snack developer’s toolbox? North American pulse growers still export a lot of their wares, but domestic demand has ramped up significantly in recent years as beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils have started to infiltrate every aisle in the grocery store, from hummus, bean dips, pasta and salads, to chips, brownies and nutrition bars, according to pulse processor AGT Food and Ingredients…Read
• Inclusion of pulses in processed food grew the fastest, says Pulse Canada: Of the many culinary ways pulses can be used, inclusion as an ingredient in snack foods or pasta really ramped up, Pulse Canada data says. We chatted with the industry association to learn more about the state of pulses… Read
•  Full of beans: Banza chickpea pasta now in 2,000+ stores… ‘It’s been a wild ride!’: Unlike some of the more esoteric products at Expo West, Banza chickpea pasta is aimed squarely at mainstream consumers who are looking for more protein and fiber in their pasta, but are not prepared to compromise on taste or texture (no mush). .. Watch now
•  Bean pasta category emerges to meet demand for high-protein, fiber-packed and gluten free options: Ongoing interest in products that are gluten free and better for you are colliding with the international push to celebrate 2016 as the year of the pulse to create a burgeoning category of pasta created from legumes rather than more traditional wheat or rice… Display
• Whole grains consumption increases thanks to plant-forward diet, focus on new flavors: Once shunned for their distinct taste and texture, whole grains are gaining acceptance among more Americans for these same attributes thanks in part to innovative restaurateurs and chefs who are using them to round-out increasingly popular plant-forward dishes, according to the Whole Grains Council… Read
•  Taste Test Friday: Banza chickpea pasta with One Hop Kitchen Bolognese offers a twist on a classic: On the menu for this edition of Taste Test Friday is a blind sampling of a classic American-Italian meal: pasta with Bolognese sauce – but with a twist. .. Watch now
• World Peas acquired by Snack it Forward: Austin based World Peas – best known for its coated peas and fava bean snacks, has been acquired by L.A. based Snack it Forward LLC – which makes freeze-dried fruit snacks (Sunkist Fruit Chips) and trail mix… Read
• NY start-up unveils the ultimate plant-based protein snack: BRAMI lupini beans: Lupini beans have a nutritional profile to die for. The problem is, most Americans have never heard of them. But that could change rapidly if the New York based entrepreneur behind BRAMI snacking beans gets his way… Read
•  Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Quinoa’s rise to superfood superstar status and the challenges it must address: Quinoa was one of the first superfoods to take America by storm more than a decade ago, and one of the few such stars to sustain its reign long enough to push past being a fad food to become a staple on restaurant menus and households across the country, but the popular grain faces challenges as it become commoditized. .. Listen now
•  Whole grains 101: Highlights from the 2015 Whole Grain Summit: The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say half of our grains should be whole. So how are we doing? FoodNavigator-USA headed to Portland, Oregon, for the 2015 Whole Grain Summit  – organized by Oregon State University and the Grains for Health Foundation – to find out….. Display
• Eating more whole grains could reduce risk of chronic diseases, study finds: New research that demonstrates a clear association between eating whole grains and the reduced risk of chronic diseases supports the 2015 dietary guideline’s recommendation that Americans “shift” their diet by making at least half their grains whole grains. .. Read
•  Selling complex carbs in a post Grain Brain world: Do grains really make us fat and sick? Grains, according to the author of best-selling book Grain Brain, are “silent killers”. Not only are they making us fat, says Dr David Perlmutter, “but even healthy ones like whole grains can cause dementia, ADHD, anxiety, chronic headaches, depression, and much more…” But is there any truth behind these assertions, and if not, what can the grain chain do to fight back?.. Watch now

Bridget Huber of The Food and Environment Reporting Network (FERN) has produced a don’t-miss” article in The Nation: “Welcome to Brazil, where a food revolution Is changing the way people eat: How the country challenged the junk-food industry and became a global leader in the battle against obesity.”

As she explains, Latin America is leading worldwide opposition to food industry marketing, and much is happening in Brazil.

She writes about the advocacy work of Carlos Monteiro, Professor of Nutrition in the School of Public Health, University of Sao Paolo, who says:

The local food system is being replaced by a food system that is controlled by transnational corporations…this dietary deterioration doesn’t just harm bodily health but also the environment, local economies, and Brazil’s rich food traditions. We are seeing a battle for the consumer.

She further explains:

Over the last 30 years, big transnational food companies have aggressively expanded into Latin America. Taking advantage of economic reforms that opened markets, they’ve courted a consumer class that has grown in size due to generally increasing prosperity and to antipoverty efforts like minimum-wage increases and cash transfers for poor families. And as sales of highly processed foods and drinks have plateaued (and even fallen, in the case of soda) in the United States and other rich countries, Latin America has become a key market…In recent years, Brazil has inscribed the right to food in its Constitution and reformed its federal school-lunch program to broaden its reach while bolstering local farms.

And in 2014, the Ministry of Health released new dietary guidelines that made healthy-food advocates across the world swoon [I did a post on them when they were released].  Monteiro helped lead the team that wrote them; the guidelines transcend a traditional nutrition-science frame to consider the social, cultural, and ecological dimensions of what people eat. They also focus on the pleasure that comes from cooking and sharing meals and frankly address the connections between what we eat and the environment.

Huber’s investigative report is long and detailed, and well worth the read.

And it comes with a great graphic comparing the situation in Brazil with that of the U.S. (this is just an excerpt):

Those of us advocating for food systems that are healthier for people and the planet have much to learn from our colleagues in the South.

I’m fascinated by this story about how the FDA came to design the new version of the food label, soon to be seen on packages in a supermarket near you.

The article explains what the FDA was up against:

Nestlé [note: no relation] lobbied to skirt clarifying disclosures on packaging that ranges between 1.5 and 2 servings….

Fiji water complained that, given new label guidelines, the company would need to disclose the sodium in their water that they could formerly round down to zero.

Many rallied against the disclosure of added sugars, including those you’d suspect, like the International Council of Beverages Associations (which includes Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Red Bull), General Mills, Ocean Spray, the Sugar Association, and the Snack Food Association, along with those you might not, like the National Yogurt Association…Even Gerber argues that added sugars shouldn’t be given a percentage Daily Value, and should instead only be listed in grams (it’s worth remembering that Gerber is in fact owned by Nestlé).