This is not a joke people. I am shocked at the audacity of Big Food in the name of profits.
Kraft Singles, a type of processed cheese that comes individually wrapped in a thin, plastic film, is the first food to receive the new “Kids Eat Right” label– a stamp of approval developed by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to help households make much healthier decisions in the grocery store.
The “Kids Eat Right” project is meant to “raise awareness that the diets of America’s kids are lacking in three crucial parts– dairy, calcium and vitamin D,” according to a statement from AND. However the news has been met apprehension, if not outright derision.
At Mother Jones, food and farming correspondent Tom Philpott points out a 2013 report from food market attorney and researcher Michele Simon, “which recorded the strong and ever-growing monetary ties in between the Academy and huge food business, including Kraft.”.
Marion Nestle, Ph.d, M.P.H., a professor in the department of nutrition, food researches and public health at NYU, shared the news on her site Food Politics, with a parenthetical– “you cannot make this stuff up.”.
“Kraft is renowneded as a sponsor of AND,” Nestle composed. “Such seals are usually money-raising tricks. I’m questioning if ‘proud advocate of’ implies that Kraft pays AND for use of this seal. If so, I ‘d like to know exactly what the seal costs.”.
Commenting on the Dietitians for Professional Integrity’s Facebook page, Allison Duffek Bradfield, a signed up dietitian at the Duke Raleigh Hospital composes, “I’m definitely disgusted with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. They have actually put the health of our kids in jeopardy for money. I am embarrassed to be a part of this company which accurately has lost its concerns.”.
By the FDA’s standards, Kraft isn’t allowed to refer to Singles as “cheese” since this word shows that a product is made with at least 51 percent genuine cheese. This is why the label reads “pasteurized ready cheese product.”.
Usually, the less components a food contains, the healthier that food has the tendency to be. Think about some preferred health foods: avocados, for example, or kale or almonds. These foods aren’t just popular– they boast the sort of brief ingredient lists that can only come from an entire food: avocado is made from avocado. That’s it.
Comparatively, the component list for a slice of Kraft American Cheese checks out like a novel:.
Cheddar cheese (milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes).
Whey.
Water.
Protein concentrate.
Milk.
Sodium citrate.
Calcium phosphate.
Milkfat.
Gelatin.
Salt.
Sodium phosphate.
Lactic acid as a chemical.
Annatto and paprika extract (color).
Enzymes.
Vitamin A palmitate.
Cheese culture.
Vitamin D3.
In the meantime, the AND continues to protect its election and claim that no cheesy questionable offers were carried out. The organization firmly insists that “it does not constitute any recommendation or nutritional seal of approval by the Academy, its Foundation or Kids Eat Right. The Academy Foundation does not supported any products, brand names or services.”.