Fore! More "Nutrition Keys" Coming for Packaged Foods

Watch out!

The packaged foodstuffs companies are at it again, creating another nutritional labeling system for their packaged foodstuffs in the hopes of making these products sound healthier than they are.

In lieu of actually reformulating their creations to make them only slightly toxic, the foodstuffs companies will instead offer us front-of-package statistics regarding calorie, saturated fat, sodium and sugar content.

However, many believe this is just the industry's attempt to control the conversation before the Food and Drug Administration figures out what its policy will be.

Remember, the really important information will still be in small print on the side or back of the packaging. The true evils that all of us should know about and avoid like the plague—refined carbohydrates (i.e. bleached white flours, processed sugars in many forms), artificial colors and other synthetic ingredients—will not receive red carpet treatment.

The new system, announced yesterday, is called Nutrition Keys and smacks of the industry’s Smart Choices Program, which met with great opposition in 2009. (Under Smart Choices, Froot Loops received a green check of approval. The program was eventually abandoned, thanks in part to public pressure.)

Click here to read more about the Nutrition Keys program in today’s New York Times.

Also, click here for coverage in the Food Safety News.