The Kellogg Company said it will increase the nutritional value of the cereals and snacks targeted at children or else stop marketing those products to them altogether. Parents and advocacy groups have worried about child obesity and threatened a lawsuit. Kellogg listened.
Some of the company’s products such as Froot Loops cereal and Pop Tart toaster pastries fall outside certain standards. These products will either be reformulated or dropped from advertising that reaches audiences where at least half of the people are under age 12, the company reports.
What are the standards which must be met to be considered healthier and provide a high nutritional value? “The new standard calls for a single serving of a product to contain no more than 200 calories; have no trans fat and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat; have no more than 230 milligrams of sodium; and have no more than 12 grams of sugar."
Mark Baynes, who is the chief marketing officer said, “one-third of the cereals that Kellogg markets to children in the U.S. fall outside those standards." Most cereals fall inside the calorie guideline, he said, but meeting the sugar and sodium standards could be the most challenging.
David McKay, President and CEO of Kellogg said the company was taking action because of the concerns about marketing to children. The company reported that twenty-seven percent of Kellogg's U.S. advertising spending is directed to children under 12 years old.
The more nutritional food will not only be sold in the United States but throughout the world. The company also plans to make immediate changes to its Web sites for children, including automatic screen time limits and information about healthy lifestyles and nutrition. It also said it will limit images of foods in computer games, downloads and wallpaper that don't meet the new criteria.
This decision pleased the parents and advocacy groups who had threatened to take legal action against Kellogg. “Kellogg has vaulted over the rest of the food industry," stated the executive director of one advocacy group.
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