Mars advises limit on products
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Need2Exerc1se
Posts: 13,575 Member
Not sure I've ever heard of a company doing this.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36051333
The company behind Dolmio and Uncle Ben's sauces says some products should only be consumed once a week due to high salt, sugar or fat content.
Mars Food said it would distinguish between "everyday" and "occasional" items on packs and website.
The company said some foods were higher in salt, sugar or fat to maintain the "authentic" taste of products.
The National Obesity Forum described the move as "hugely unusual" but "very imaginative".
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36051333
The company behind Dolmio and Uncle Ben's sauces says some products should only be consumed once a week due to high salt, sugar or fat content.
Mars Food said it would distinguish between "everyday" and "occasional" items on packs and website.
The company said some foods were higher in salt, sugar or fat to maintain the "authentic" taste of products.
The National Obesity Forum described the move as "hugely unusual" but "very imaginative".
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Gosh, no opinions on this. Maybe I should have selected a catchier subject line.0
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I like this principle ("candy on Saturdays only"), even though it's exactly what my mother always advised me to
I think it's brave (if that's the word). This may lead to more people cooking more from scratch, and less money coming in.
And helpful for conscientious consumers to label foods as everyday/occasional. But how conscientious are consumers? Should the packaging stress that you won't reap the benefit by eating several different "occasional" products through the week?0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Not sure I've ever heard of a company doing this.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36051333
The company behind Dolmio and Uncle Ben's sauces says some products should only be consumed once a week due to high salt, sugar or fat content.
Mars Food said it would distinguish between "everyday" and "occasional" items on packs and website.
The company said some foods were higher in salt, sugar or fat to maintain the "authentic" taste of products.
The National Obesity Forum described the move as "hugely unusual" but "very imaginative".
In other words, they think their customer base is too ill informed or dumb to be able to read a nutrition label to decide how much of their product to eat.1 -
They're probably afraid of lawsuits or something... lol. I'm just shaking my head.0
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They can see which way the wind is blowing.3
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They're probably afraid of lawsuits or something... lol. I'm just shaking my head.
I'm not even sure how someone could even fathom suing for this. What would the person say? "Well your honor, the packaging never said I shouldn't eat X amount of candy bars everyday for years, so it's their fault I'm obese". That would be just as dumb as "well your honor, the directions never said I shouldn't make toast in the bathtubs so it's their fault I got electrocuted".
Some things just really shouldn't have to stated, but sadly common sense is so rare nowadays that it may as well be considered a superpower.2 -
Meh, anything to help the majority of people is fine with me.3
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No matter what the motivation, it's a good move in general.3
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I understand what they are trying to achieve but I think you'll get people who think they can have product a once a week, product b once a week, product c once a week etc.0
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There's an impending storm brewing surrounding this.
On one side you have a lobby trying to implement legislation to force manufacturers to do what Mars have done, on the other side you have the manufacturers who wish to self regulate.
This is no more than Mars firing first shots.1 -
They're probably afraid of lawsuits or something... lol. I'm just shaking my head.
I'm not even sure how someone could even fathom suing for this. What would the person say? "Well your honor, the packaging never said I shouldn't eat X amount of candy bars everyday for years, so it's their fault I'm obese". That would be just as dumb as "well your honor, the directions never said I shouldn't make toast in the bathtubs so it's their fault I got electrocuted".
Some things just really shouldn't have to stated, but sadly common sense is so rare nowadays that it may as well be considered a superpower.
@elphie754 - It wouldn't surprise me if someone tries though. I mean there was a lawsuit about the 0 calorie I can't believe it's not butter spray. Something about how the serving size was to small and that by the time she used what she liked there was fat/calories (at least that's what I got out of it). McDonald's got sued over hot coffee. And I'm sure there are other silly things I'm not aware of.0 -
We sort of implemented a similar system here in Australia a few years ago. Most foods now come with a "health star rating" on the packaging.
From their website:
You can make healthier choices by using the Health Star Rating to compare the overall nutritional profile of packaged food products at-a-glance. Try these tips next time you go shopping.- Look for the Health Star Ratings on the front of packaged food products.
- Use the Health Stars Ratings to compare similar food products. Remember, the more stars, the healthier the choice.
- Use the nutrient information to choose products that contain less sodium, saturated fat and/or sugars.
At least 10 years ago we also introduced a colour-coded system to school canteens/tuck shops (we don't do school cafeterias here). Green means you can eat it every day, yellow is an occasional snack and red limits how often an item can be sold at school. I've noticed recently that supermarket-bought snacks for kids have also started including this information on their packaging.
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It's a good idea, if it's on the label prominently enough to at least make people consider it. I know from having multiple food allergies that labels are time consuming and sometimes the contrast on the package (or lack of it) makes the nutrition information hard to read.0
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It's great marketing. I'm sure sales of all of their products will go up.0
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This was on the news here last. They also said they are going to reduce the salt and sugar in their products so they can up the status from once a week or whatever to a few times per week.
Less salt and sugar in products is a good thing imo. Let people choose if they want to add (or not) these condiments to their own meals, to their own taste.3 -
shadow2soul wrote: »They're probably afraid of lawsuits or something... lol. I'm just shaking my head.
I'm not even sure how someone could even fathom suing for this. What would the person say? "Well your honor, the packaging never said I shouldn't eat X amount of candy bars everyday for years, so it's their fault I'm obese". That would be just as dumb as "well your honor, the directions never said I shouldn't make toast in the bathtubs so it's their fault I got electrocuted".
Some things just really shouldn't have to stated, but sadly common sense is so rare nowadays that it may as well be considered a superpower.
@elphie754 - It wouldn't surprise me if someone tries though. I mean there was a lawsuit about the 0 calorie I can't believe it's not butter spray. Something about how the serving size was to small and that by the time she used what she liked there was fat/calories (at least that's what I got out of it). McDonald's got sued over hot coffee. And I'm sure there are other silly things I'm not aware of.
It wouldn't shock me either. Frivolous lawsuits seem to run rampant nowadays.We sort of implemented a similar system here in Australia a few years ago. Most foods now come with a "health star rating" on the packaging.
From their website:
You can make healthier choices by using the Health Star Rating to compare the overall nutritional profile of packaged food products at-a-glance. Try these tips next time you go shopping.- Look for the Health Star Ratings on the front of packaged food products.
- Use the Health Stars Ratings to compare similar food products. Remember, the more stars, the healthier the choice.
- Use the nutrient information to choose products that contain less sodium, saturated fat and/or sugars.
At least 10 years ago we also introduced a colour-coded system to school canteens/tuck shops (we don't do school cafeterias here). Green means you can eat it every day, yellow is an occasional snack and red limits how often an item can be sold at school. I've noticed recently that supermarket-bought snacks for kids have also started including this information on their packaging.
Stating something is healthier than something else is subjective though, especially if someone has a health condition. What might be 4 stars in their system could be something someone else has to avoid.
The green/yellow/red school canteen idea is neat though.
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Stating something is healthier than something else is subjective though, especially if someone has a health condition. What might be 4 stars in their system could be something someone else has to avoid.
The green/yellow/red school canteen idea is neat though.
Someone with a specific health condition would most likely already know how to read nutrition labels and what products they can/can't eat though. It's definitely not a perfect system, I've noticed products with ratings higher than I would expect as well. But if it gets the average Australian thinking about their food choices and even reading the nutrition panel, I think that's a good start!1 -
"Don't eat this rubbish that we make, at least not too often" :-)
Trying to head off ham fisted regulation by voluntary action I guess. Dolmio's pasta sauce is 1g of salt per "serving" so that's probably a big lump out of a kid's daily allowance.
The airwaves were alight with horrified mothers wondering how they were going to feed their kids.0 -
We sort of implemented a similar system here in Australia a few years ago. Most foods now come with a "health star rating" on the packaging.
From their website:
You can make healthier choices by using the Health Star Rating to compare the overall nutritional profile of packaged food products at-a-glance. Try these tips next time you go shopping.- Look for the Health Star Ratings on the front of packaged food products.
- Use the Health Stars Ratings to compare similar food products. Remember, the more stars, the healthier the choice.
- Use the nutrient information to choose products that contain less sodium, saturated fat and/or sugars.
At least 10 years ago we also introduced a colour-coded system to school canteens/tuck shops (we don't do school cafeterias here). Green means you can eat it every day, yellow is an occasional snack and red limits how often an item can be sold at school. I've noticed recently that supermarket-bought snacks for kids have also started including this information on their packaging.
Since it's been a few years, have any follow up studies been done, showing the effectiveness of these kinds of programs (has obesity numbers declined etc). Genuinely curious
eta: I did some quick searching but all I found was old articles/studies about the Australian 'Paradox', which is the fact that while sugar consumption in Australia has been going down, obesity is going up.0
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