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A few weeks ago we wrote about a product formulation change by cola manufacturers, including Pepsi and Coca Cola, modifying the type of caramel coloring used in order to avoid being labeled as carcinogenic.

But that’s small peas compared to a joint announcement planned for tomorrow morning by Muhtar Kent and Indra Nooyi, the CEOs of Coca Cola and Pepsico, respectively, which was leaked late last night to the Huffington Post. Here is what Mr. Kent is planning to say:

“As industry leaders, employers, and community members, our companies strive to do the best for all our stakeholders. Over the past few years, the beverage industry has made immense efforts to offer a wide variety of hydration solutions to address the public’s changing needs. Today, we are taking our commitment one step further by announcing our plan to reduce up to 30% of the sugar content in our companies’ cola line of products. We project that this move will reduce the annual sugar consumption in the US by 25 billion pounds.” read more…

What you need to know:

The dramatic announcement by the 800 and 500 pound gorillas in the beverage industry is nothing short of amazing. In one fell swoop, these two companies will be reducing close to ONE TRILLION CALORIES from the annual US intake. That works out to about one pounds of body weight per year for every American!

There is no mention in the announcement of a timeline for this reduction in sugar and whether it will happen overnight or gradually over the course of a few years.

Indra Nooyi, Pepsi’s CEO, is quoted saying that in market tests over the past 9 months in several key metro locations, results were surprisingly favorable. Pepsi tested various formulation changes, and the one that seemed most successful was around the 30% reduction in sugar for the classic cola flavor. The changes and testing were done under tight control and shrouded in secrecy, but according to a Coca Cola spokesperson, the FDA and department of Health were notified well in advance of the planned reductions in sugar.

Both Pepsi and Coke will be making adjustments to other ingredients in their drinks, but no new ingredients or additives will be included in the reduced sugar formulation. This means that high fructose corn syrup will still be used instead of sugar.

We at Fooducate commend Coke and Pepsi for this brave move. It’s not an easy decision to take a hundred year old winning formula and change it. This is a huge bet on a core product that’s pretty much been a license to print money. Recall that Coke got burned in the early eighties when it made a formula change to the New Coke.

In the press release, neither CEO mentions America’s obesity problem or the connection between soft drink consumption and weight gain. But it is quite clear that the companies have been getting squeezed more and more by both consumer groups and the government over the course of the last few years. This is likely a preemptive move to buy the beverage behemoths more time.

Mind you, the new formula colas will still contain 5.5 teaspoons of sugar per 12 ounce cans. But this step is better than none.

The first reformulated products will be out in “select markets” (not mentioned in the press release) in the early fall. The branding and graphics have not been shared by either company.

What do you think about this change?

Will it have a real effect on America’s waistline?

PS: If you think this story is too good to be true, you’re right. We Gotcha! April fools… But sometimes you just have to stretch the limits of what’s possible. Who knows…And now, to polish off that extra large soft drink…

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Can junk food companies reinvent themselves and start selling healthy food instead?

If you ask the CEOs of the big food corporations such as McDonald’s and PepsiCo, the answer is YES, of course. Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo has made the “better for you” line of products an integral part of her strategy moving the company forward. Unfortunately that strategy has not been successful, and shareholders have been antsy over the past few years.

That’s why they must have been relieved to hear that the company is renewing its focus on “indulgent” brands that make up the core of its business.

“We cannot forget about what I call the indulgent core businesses,” Albert Carey, chief executive of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, said at an industry conference … ”If you’re going to do the healthy, you have to do the core, because we still have a very strong business in the core.” Examples, he said, include Frito-Lay “bar food” snacks such as taco-flavored Doritos and hot-wing-flavored Ruffles. Read more…

Perhaps PepsiCo didn’t try hard enough in the health food segment? If Gatorade and baked Lays can be considered a healthy choice by the company, perhaps it is better off focusing on selling junk food. At least we all know and can identify it for what it is. It’s actually the sugar laden, artificially colored Gatorade that worries many health professionals, because they see many consumers drinking it thinking it is a healthy beverage.

Imagine PepsiCo really making an effort, using its massive infrastructure and logistics centers to promote the consumption of fresh local foods. Imagine if they could create food education centers and teach people to easily prepare home cooked meals. Imagine PepsiCo creating direct connections between farmers and consumers. There are so many out-of-the-box opportunities for a company the size of PepsiCo to try and truly reinvent itself, not by switching from a cola to a Gatorade. Too bad this type of long term thinking is not rewarded by Wall Street.

You’d think the NFL and its super athletes would serve as a shining example of physical fitness and gastronomic responsibility. You expect top athletes to eat healthy and serve an example to millions of boys and young men who look up to them. You wish…

Earlier this month, in honor of the long awaited season kickoff, PepsiCo’s CEO and chairman Indra Nooyi and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced that Pepsico will be shelling out TWO POINT THREE BILLION dollars in NFL sponsorship money over the next decade.

Aside from Gatorade for athletes on the sidelines, we will now be inundated with Doritos, PepsiMax and what not throughout the seasons. The two business leaders discussed how this deal will help strengthen both brands.

Ms. Nooyi spoke of “moments” of pleasure that PepsiCo’s products afford consumers in these hard times. If you can’t afford a vacation, or even a ticket to an NFL game, watch it for free on TV and drown your sorrows in a bowl of Doritos and a 2 liter Pepsi.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for snacks and fun and moments of pleasure, but unfortunately consumers are inundated with too many advertising messages for JUNK FOOD THAT IS MAKING US FAT AND SICK. These sponsorship deals may be good for lining the NFL’s pockets and PepsiCo’s sales. But America’s obesity and diabetes crises will end up costing us, the taxpayers, much much more than Ms. Nooyi is bringing to her shareholders.

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We talk a lot about fake food being sold to consumers. But today’s post is about a fake fake food that has been brought to life as a real fake food.

It’s hard to believe, but Southpark is celebrating its 15th season. While our favorite character (guess who) has been gone for many seasons, the comic series is arguably as biting and funny as when it kicked off in the late nineties. As part of the birthday celebration, Cartman’s favorite animated snack is coming to life this week. PepsiCo’s Frito Lay division has manufactured a limited edition of Cheesy Poofs, no doubt an artery clogging, greasy, artificially colored and flavored snack.

From Frito Lay’s perspective, this is a great opportunity. Southpark’s audience is mostly guys aged 15-35.

“It’s fair to say the viewers of programs on Comedy Central overlap well with consumers of our products,” said Chris Kuechenmeister, a spokesman at Frito-Lay in Plano, Tex. read more…

The $2.99 per 3 servings snack will be sold at Wal-Mart starting next month for a limited time. If anyone get their hands on this product beforehand, please send us some pics of the nutrition label and ingredient list. We’re interested to see how much of Cartman’s weight problems can be attributed to his favorite snack.

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Aunt Jemima is a brand that’s been around for over 100 years. It conjures thoughts of  Southern hospitality. It’s comforting to know a brand has been around that long. You can probably trust it..

And thus, many people buy their pancake kit (mix + syrup) from Aunt Jemima.

Here’s why Aunt Jemima thinks you should buy her syrup:

Give your pancakes what they deserve and top them with the classic taste of Aunt Jemima® Original Syrup. Our rich and thick syrup is the perfect way to top your family’s favorite pancakes and waffles.

Classic taste. Rich and thick. Original – sounds like maple syrup, doesn’t it? Read more…

A not for profit, Corporate Accountability International, recently released a report with a startling revelation:

members of Congress over the course of a year spent nearly one million dollars on bottled water.

That works out to about $2000 per member of congress, just on bottled water.

According to the group, there is a strong corporate push, led by Nestle, to “turn water from a human right into a profit-driven commodity”. While we doubt anyone at Nestle is actively ploying this, the trend of increased bottled water consumption in the US is certainly of concern.

Corporate Accountability is asking the public to petition Congressional representatives to get off the bottle and to invest  in public water infrastructure.

What you need to know:

On the bright side, at least our lawmakers aren’t drinking soda pop all day (or are they?). But seriously, if you would have told the average American 50 years ago she or he should be buying water in a bottle they’d have thought you are crazy.

What happened? Billions of $$$ in advertising budgets to convince us that bottled water is a normal way to consume H two O. Here is a quote from a Susan Wellington, former vice president of marketing at PepsiCo:

When we are done, tap water will be relegated to showers and washing dishes…

But consider this:

• Bottled water costs over 1000 times more than tap water per fluid ounce.
• Bottled water uses over 2000 times more energy to produce and deliver.
• The purity of tap water is far more regulated than that of bottled water.
• Most bottled water sold today is simply tap water that has been filtered and then bottled.

So why are you still drinking bottled water?

What to do at the supermarket:

Just skip the beverage aisles in the supermarket. By avoiding the drinks section, you’ll be “forced” to drink tap at home. While we recognize the utility and convenience of opening a bottle of water when on the go, or in the car, try a reusable container, not single use plastic bottles.

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You’ve got to hand it to Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo. She is trying to re-invent the junk food and beverage conglomerate by building an entire portfolio of “Good For You” Products. Problem is, that she is pushing the company forward when it needs to go backward. We’ll explain…

Here is an example. The company is now experimenting with a new product under the Tropicana brand called Tropolis – it’s an 80-calorie fruit puree, which comes in brightly colored pouches, and will be marketed to moms and kids.

“We see the emerging opportunity to ‘snackify’ beverages and ‘drinkify’ snacks as the next frontier in food and beverage convenience,” Ms. Nooyi said.  Read more from the Wall Street Journal…

Perhaps a bold step forward in food processing, but as we explain, our childrens’ health mandates we take a step backward -  get people to consume the unprocessed fruit, not juice and not a puree.

But unprocessed means that

1. supply is based on seasonality.
2. products need to taste really good in their original form. But current varieties are bred for shelf life and size, not flavor.
3. it’s much harder to differentiate veggies or fruits, when they are simply commodities.
4. there is no ability to mark up the price and make a hefty profit on commodities.

Processing allows manufacturers to

1. maintain sales year round by creating products with almost infinite shelf life.
2. use the lowest quality inputs by adding additives to improve the flavor
3. build mega brands that rake in billions of dollars
4. convince us we don’t need to work hard for food – no need to cook, no need to peel an orange, no need to chew.

If junk food companies truly have our health interest in mind, they  need to be much more creative than evolving a juice into a puree.

• They need to forgo a few quarters of profit growth, and perhaps a few years.
• They need to stop drilling a hole in our heads promoting sugary drinks, salty snacks, and fatty burgers.
• They need to figure out how to become leaders in a brand new food system where there is a much bigger emphasis on quality commodity inputs, minimal processing, localized and short distribution cycles.
• They need to stop externalizing the true cost of junk food (food related disease and medical bills, subsidies for corn and soy)

We don’t need an evolution in junk food products. We need a revolution. One in which healthy food is cheaper to buy than junk food. One where the best selling snacks are fresh, perhaps local, fruits and veggies. One where financial rewards and incentives are awarded to companies that morph into something else.

As things appear now, the incumbent big brands won’t be igniting a food revolution. They are too comfortable. Their competition is other similar companies, not fresh fruit and produce farms. And we, the silent majority of consumers are mostly complacent and kept comfortably numb.

So buyer beware. You have been trained (through gazillions of ads, commercials, and press releases) to seek and easily find junk food. The high salt/fat/sugar content has trained your palate to want more of the same.

Here’s something for you to think about: How would you re-invent a major food brand if you were given the helm?

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Hi everyone, great to see we all made it to 2011!

2010 was full of interesting developments in the food and nutrition space. The First Lady launched Let’s Move, to stop childhood obesity. The FDA and the FTC went with a new fervor after manufacturers’ misleading health claims. A renewed child nutrition bill was passed. Front of Pack Labeling was reviewed by the Institute of Medicine with some interesting conclusions. The FDA got more power to oversee food safety.

So what will 2011 bring?

1. Marion Nestle, Nutrition professor at NYU and one of our favorite bloggers, sees the following things happening:

* The 2010 Dietary Guidelines are due very soon (hey, does Uncle Sam know it’s 2011 already). Will the guidelines say anything about reducing our consumption of high fat, high sugar products? Or will the FDA wimp out and obfuscate with terminology such as “moderation”?

* The FDA is expected to release guidelines for front of package labeling of products. Will these guidelines reduce consumer confusion or exacerbate it? Here is something to think about: If only positive attributes are shown on a product, how will consumers ever get the whole picture?

* Companies will continue to find ways to “co-opt” critics:

Under the guise of corporate social responsibility, food companies have been making large donations to organizations that might otherwise criticize their products. The most recent example is the decision by Save the Children, formerly a staunch advocate of soda taxes, to drop that cause coincidentally at a time when its executives were negotiating funding from Coca-Cola.

Read more from Nestle’s blog, Food Politics.

2. The Food Channel has put together a list of top 10 trends including more men cooking, more emphasis on local food, people buying more often at farmer markets and specialty stores for meat, cheese and produce. Chefs in schools, on the heels of Jamie Oliver, will be improving our kids’ nutrition. Lastly, food apps. Whether they are restaurant guides, calorie counters, or product information, apps will make it easier for consumers to choose what food they want, in real time.

3.Food & Wine predicts vegetables will become sexier:

The stereotype of the vegetarian as wan and anemic is fading fast as a new generation of red-blooded men and women—from hard-driving chefs to football stars—push meat off (or to the side of) their plates.

Let’s hope this trend sticks!

4. Marketing research firm Mintel predicts the following for packaged foods:

* A quiet reduction in sodium, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup.

* the term “Natural” will come under fire and bring in the regulators. PepsiCo didn’t get the memo…

* Blurring of product categories – beverages consumed as snacks, snacks as meals, meals as beverages.

More trends from Mintel here…

Should be an interesting year. Lots for us to write about.

What are your predictions, wishes, or fears for the food year to come?

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As the new year approaches, and with it a multitude of resolutions for a healthier behavior, we will be seeing many new announcements about nutrition, foods and exercise contraptions.

Getting a head start is Frito-Lay, the savory snack stalwart owned by PepsiCo. Yesterday the company announced major changes in its lineup. In fact,

“This is the largest evolution we’ve ever had in our product line,” says Ann Mukherjee, chief marketing officer at Frito-Lay. Until now, she says, 30% of its line was “all natural.” For example:

• A bag of Tostitos Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips will lose all of these additives: monosodium glutamate, sodium diacetate and artificial colors.

• Lay’s Barbeque chips will drop the monosodium glutamate and some other additives.

read more from USA Today…

Unfortunately, Doritos and Cheetos are not included in the changes.

What you need to know:

Let us be perfectly clear. Fooducate applauds the removal of unhealthy additives from food products.

But as we wrote just last week, “Natural” is an unregulated term. It is misleading because it adds a health halo to products that do not deserve one. Potato chips are not healthy. Tostitos are not healthy. They are salty, fatty snacks that should be consumed occasionally at best.

Frito-Lay’s motivation is to increase sales of its products and to take back market share from smaller rivals who have been playing the “natural” ticket for several years. If Frito-Lay can additionally spin a PR story to appear interested in our health, even better.

If junk food companies would really care about our health, they wouldn’t peddle soft drinks and empty calorie snacks to our children. They wouldn’t spend billions in advertising and product placement to get us to eat MORE MORE MORE snacks. They would re-invent themselves to create totally new brands, back to basics foods.

Bottom line: “All Natural” junk food is still junk food. You should not be tempted to consume more just because some ingredients have been removed.

What to do at the supermarket:

It’s good to know that if and when you purchase an occasional snack, it’s made with ingredients you would most likely find in your pantry. Always check the ingredient list to see you are not buying snacks with partially hydrogenated oils (a.k.a. trans-fat), excessive salt (over 200mg per serving), or additives of dubious nutritional value.

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We participated earlier this week in the American Dietetic Association’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo. The expo includes a showcase by food companies boasting their healthy products to masses of dietitians and future dietitians.

Some products are clearly healthy and make sense, but others obviously have no room in a nutrition conference being held by America’s leading dietetic group. But then again, the conference is sponsored by Coca Cola, Mars, and a few other junk food companies, so what could we expect. Here is a sampling of good products and bad bad products:

The Good:

Unsweetened Teas – both Coca Cola’s Sokenbicha brand, and smaller Guayaki Yerba Mate add nothing but tea leaves and flavorings to water, to create a flavor that is very common in countries such as Japan, but difficult to appreciate by sugar laden taste buds of American consumers. Keep trying, after a while you won’t be able to get back to suagry drinks.

Blueberries – what can we say – the local, sweet, delicious, antioxidant powerhouse.

Nuts – the pistachio board put together an impressive booth branding “the green nut.” Almonds also had a nice presence.

Unsweetened Greek Yogurt from Chobani - a great way to start the day, add your own granola or diced fruit.

The Bad:

Hidden Valley Light Ranch Dressing – designed to encourage kids to consume veggies, this dressing has more chemicals than a teen has zits, including phosphoric acid, artificial colors, MSG, artificial flavors, and a few more.

Kellogg’s Corn Pops – including 2 and half teaspoons of sugar, trans-fats, and BHT, a controversial preservative.

Frito Lay Potato Chips – yes, they are made with only 3 ingredients. Yes, they are lower in sodium than pretzels. No, they do not belong in a a nutrition expo, where one would expect foods that dietitians should recommend to clients. But PepsiCo, parent company of Frito-Lay is an expo sponsor…

Gimme milk chocolate candies fortified with vitamins and minerals -This can’t be real. They’ve taken candy and fortified it. Wrong on so many levels.

Naked juice, Juicy juice, and other sugary beverages – yes, they’re made without any added sugar, but the sheer amount of beverages offered at the expo creates an environment where offering juice as a soda alternative for daily consumptions seems  like a smart choice. The fact is, juice should be considered a once in a while treat, not a daily hydration solution.

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