Surprise! Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Went All-Natural and Nobody Noticed

[bananas]

http://brandchannel.com/2016/03/07/kraft-macaroni-cheese-030716/

Surprise! Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Went All-Natural and Nobody Noticed
Posted March 7, 2016 by Dale Buss

Turns out that Kraft just pulled a fast one on American parents who are concerned about the ingredients of what their kids eat. In a campaign that launched on Monday, the brand is touting its sleight of brands in a tongue-in-cheek new ad campaign with TV spots starring Craig Kilborn, the former host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Late, Late Show on CBS, with a serious message.

In what it’s calling the biggest “blind taste test” in history, Kraft Heinz quietly changed the recipe of its signature Kraft Mac & Cheese dinner in December, stripping artificial flavors, dyes and preservatives from 50 million boxes in a three-month trial.

The goal: to gauge consumers’ reactions to tweaking an iconic boxed entree that has been one of the most popular dry goods in US supermarkets since 1937. Instead, it substituted natural ingredients (including paprika, turmeric and annatto) for artificial dyes yellow 5 and 6.

<snip>

[sharp_stick]

1. We did notice

the color and taste were different, not bad but different.

It's nice to see them getting rid of a lot of the stuff they don't need.

[HuckleB]

12. Looks like they replaced other preservatives with more salt.

[bananas]

2. change came after hearing from parents who wanted improved nutrition and simpler ingredients

http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/08/news/companies/kraft-mac-and-cheese-recipe/

Kraft changed its mac & cheese recipe and nobody noticed
by David Goldman @DavidGoldmanCNN March 8, 2016: 10:00 AM ET

<snip>

Kraft launched a marketing campaign Monday, starring former "Daily Show" and "Late Late Show" host Craig Kilborn. The company is calling it "the world's largest blind taste test."

<snip>

Kraft said the change came after hearing from parents who wanted improved nutrition and simpler ingredients. The change was first announced in April 2015.

The company said it worked diligently since then to ensure that the recipe change didn't impact the mac & cheese's flavor.

<snip>

Kraft (KHC) also reduced the amount of saturated fat in its Mac & Cheese "Shapes" boxes, and it has "taken steps to include" more whole grains in its pasta without compromising flavor. Kraft already took out the fake coloring from its character macaroni, like its SpongeBob, Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shapes.

The mac & cheese recipe change is the latest in a long line of processed foods and fast food chains that have eliminated artificial ingredients. Hershey's, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, General Mills, Subway, Panera, and many others have stripped out artificial preservatives, flavors and colors.

<snip>

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. yep. we refused to buy it anymore.

I still won't tho, cause I found Winco brand... Tastes like kraft did back in the 80's, and at nearly half the price.

[underpants]

3. Interesting but I don't think there is a huge taste element to choosing a Mac n cheese

Mostly it's either "whatever" or the brand you are used to buying.


Good to see Kilborn back.

[bananas]

4. Kids can be very finicky. nt

[awoke_in_2003]

8. homemade is 100 times better. nt

[HuckleB]

9. Indeed. But for many kids, the blander, the better.

I doubt the new recipe is any more healthy, but Americans are easily conned on such matters.

[Mika]

6. 580 mg sodium per TWO OUNCE SERVING!

If you like serving kids a salt-lick ...

[HuckleB]

10. That's what I figured. Salt replaced other things.

Makes backpacking food low sodium, by comparison.

[proverbialwisdom]

7. Food isn't just about taste? Food shouldn't contain untested synthetic chemicals?

http://www.nrdc.org/media/2014/140407b.asp

http://foodbabe.com/2015/04/20/kraft-dumps-artificial-food-dyes-after-massive-petition/
http://foodbabe.com/tag/kraft-yellow/

[HuckleB]

11. Food Babe?

FFS!

[proverbialwisdom]

13. Don't like consumer advocacy?

http://foodbabe.com/2013/03/14/our-response-to-krafts-letter-its-time-to-surrender-your-artificial-dyes/

Our Response to Kraft’s Letter: It’s Time To Surrender Your Artificial Dyes
March 14, 2013

...Even the FDA admits we should be concerned, stating the following on their website:

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/FoodAdvisoryCommittee/UCM273033.pdf

“Exposure to food and food components, including AFC [Artificial Food Colors] and preservatives, may be associated with behavioral changes, not necessarily related to hyperactivity, in certain susceptible children with ADHD and other problem behaviors, and possibly in susceptible children from the general population.”

http://foodbabe.com/2013/04/05/the-inside-story-on-my-visit-to-kraft-headquarters/

The Inside Story On My Visit To Kraft Headquarters
April 5, 2013

When I boarded the plane in North Carolina to go to Chicago just a few days ago to deliver over 270,000 petitions to Kraft headquarters, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.

Over the course of this week, several media outlets have interviewed me before, during and after my visit to Kraft where they reported bits and pieces of what happened; however, they didn’t share the whole inside story and that is why I want you to know everything that happened that day including everything that led up to the behind-closed-doors conversation I had with Kraft.

<>



We walked the boxes of 270,000 signatures across the street to the corner of the security entrance (technically on Kraft’s property) and set up on the side walk to give a speech on why I was there. Pulin Modi from change.org who has been with us every step of the way introduced me…You can read the entire transcript of the speech here.

After delivering this speech, we picked up the boxes and headed to the front gate. Immediately the security guard came out from the booth and gave me a clipboard to sign my name. She said, pointing at me, “you are the only one allowed in” and asked us to put the boxes down so they could be collected.

<>

One of the questions I asked repeatedly was this:

Why did you reformulate Mac & Cheese without artificial food dyes overseas but not here? And why did Kraft do it for almost the entire line of products including Lunchables, Trident, Halls, Pillsbury, and Ritz Cheese Crackers? Artificial food dyes are still allowed in Europe – but you reformulated them there? Why?

I just wanted to hear the answer as I understood it. We know Kraft did it to avoid the warning label that is required in Europe when a product uses artificial dyes and wanted them to be honest and admit this but neither of Kraft’s representatives wanted to answer the question truthfully and said “I don’t know” each time we asked those questions. At one point I asked to speak to the person in charge of the UK version of Mac & Cheese, and Lynn said that was her territory, but she didn’t know the answer to our questions, so I asked – who does know the answers? Can we talk to them? She refused my request.

<>

More: http://foodbabe.com/2014/11/19/just-because-this-kraft-food-is-easy-doesnt-mean-you-should-eat-it/

[HuckleB]

14. And the Food Babe double down.

[proverbialwisdom]

15. Check it out.

Embedded links at original.

http://cspinet.org/new/201601191.html



REPORT
Seeing Red: Report Finds FDA Fails to Protect Children in Light of New Evidence on Food Dyes
January 19, 2016

The Food and Drug Administration is failing to protect children from the disturbing behavioral problems caused by artificial food dyes, even though evidence of those problems has continued to mount since 2011, when an FDA advisory panel last considered the issue. That’s the finding of a new report, released today by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, that takes a withering look at the agency’s inaction on dyes in the face of what CSPI says is a growing consensus among researchers and healthcare providers who treat behavioral problems that avoiding food dyes benefits some children.

Since 2011, eight detailed analyses, including two meta-analyses, concluded that excluding food dyes, or a diet that eliminates dyed foods and certain other foods and ingredients, reduces behavior problems in some children. Furthermore, recent analyses of the dye content of popular foods and drinks indicate that many American children are consuming amounts of dyes far higher than the levels demonstrated in some trials to trigger problems. CSPI, which in 2008 asked the FDA to ban Red 40, Yellow 5, and six other synthetic colorings, says that the dyes fail to meet the federal safety standard for color additives, which requires “convincing evidence that establishes with reasonable certainty that no harm will result from the intended use of the color additive.”

Most food and drink companies, including ones that sell products in the United States, have eliminated most dyes in products sold in Europe, where regulators have required labels warning consumers about the behavioral problems associated with dyed foods. But in the United States, a forthcoming study conducted by a researcher at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and CSPI found that more than 90 percent of child-oriented candies, fruit-flavored snacks, and drink mixes are colored with dyes and that a majority of child-oriented foods made by such companies as Kraft, PepsiCo, and General Mills contain dyes.

“Major food companies like Coca-Cola, General Mills, McDonald’s, and PepsiCo should be embarrassed that they’re selling their American customers foods colored with Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, and other synthetic dyes, even as they’re selling naturally colored or dye-free versions of the same foods in Europe,” said CSPI president Michael F. Jacobson. “American children will continue to be exposed to these powerful chemicals so long as FDA lags behind its European counterparts.”

Two important meta-analyses have been published since 2011, the year the FDA’s Food Advisory Committee examined the science surrounding food dyes and children’s behavior and narrowly declined to recommend warning labels on dyed foods. The first, which received funding from the food industry, found that adopting a diet free of food dyes and some other foods and ingredients reduced symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in approximately a third of children with that condition. This meta-analysis, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, found that synthetic colorings were associated with a slight statistically significant increase in ADHD symptoms as assessed by parents or by attention tests. It estimated that as many as eight percent of the millions of children with ADHD may suffer symptoms caused by synthetic food colorings.

A second meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that avoiding dyed foods was one of two effective non-drug treatments for ADHD in some children.

CSPI’s report also identifies six other new reviews that point to the risks posed by dyes, including a 2012 review published in Neurotherapeutics stating that “until safety can be better determined, we suggest minimizing children’s exposure” to food dyes.

According to many of the 2,000 parents who wrote to CSPI, food dyes have a swift adverse impact on children’s behavior, and their children’s behavior generally improves quickly once dyes are phased out of their diet.

<>

http://action.cspinet.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1927&ea.campaign.id=46968

January 2016
PETITION: Urge the FDA to ban food dyes!

Mounting scientific evidence—and an emerging consensus among scientists who have studied the issue—demonstrate that children are harmed by synthetic food dyes. As detailed in our recent report, Seeing Red: Time for Action on Food Dyes, studies show that susceptible children—which may number more than half-a-million in the U.S.—experience episodes of inattention, hyperactivity, or other behavioral effects, after consuming foods containing synthetic dyes. In addition, recent research has revealed far higher levels of dyes in commonly consumed foods than was previously thought.

<>

How long? Until consumers rebel, as inspired by Vani Hari.

http://www.cspinet.org/new/201006291.html

CSPI Says Food Dyes Pose Rainbow of Risks
Cancer, Hyperactivity, Allergic Reactions

June 29, 2010

WASHINGTON—Food dyes—used in everything from M&Ms to Manischewitz Matzo Balls to Kraft salad dressings—pose risks of cancer, hyperactivity in children, and allergies, and should be banned, according to a new report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. A top government scientist agrees, and says that food dyes present unnecessary risks to the public.

The three most widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are contaminated with known carcinogens, says CSPI. Another dye, Red 3, has been acknowledged for years by the Food and Drug Administration to be a carcinogen, yet is still in the food supply.

Despite those concerns, each year manufacturers pour about 15 million pounds of eight synthetic dyes into our foods. Per capita consumption of dyes has increased five-fold since 1955, thanks in part to the proliferation of brightly colored breakfast cereals, fruit drinks, and candies pitched to children.

“These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson, co-author of the 58-page report, “Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks.” “The Food and Drug Administration should ban dyes, which would force industry to color foods with real food ingredients, not toxic petrochemicals.”

Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 have long been known to cause allergic reactions in some people. CSPI says that while those reactions are not common, they can be serious and provide reason enough to ban those dyes. Furthermore, numerous studies have demonstrated that dyes cause hyperactivity in children.

But the biggest concern is cancer. Back in 1985, the acting commissioner of the FDA said that Red 3, one of the lesser-used dyes, “has clearly been shown to induce cancer” and was “of greatest public health concern.” However, Secretary of Agriculture John R. Block pressed the Department of Health and Human Services not to ban the dye, and he apparently prevailed—notwithstanding the Delaney Amendment that forbids the use of in foods of cancer-causing color additives. Each year about 200,000 pounds of Red 3 are poured into such foods as Betty Crocker’s Fruit Roll-Ups and ConAgra’s Kid Cuisine frozen meals. Since 1985 more than five million pounds of the dye have been used.

Tests on lab animals of Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 showed signs of causing cancer or suffered from serious flaws, said the consumer group. Yellow 5 also caused mutations, an indication of possible carcinogenicity, in six of 11 tests.

In addition, according to the report, FDA tests show that the three most-widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are tainted with low levels of cancer-causing compounds, including benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl in Yellow 5. However, the levels actually could be far higher, because in the 1990s the FDA and Health Canada found a hundred times as much benzidine in a bound form that is released in the colon, but not detected in the routine tests of purity conducted by the FDA.

“Dyes add no benefits whatsoever to foods, other than making them more ‘eye-catching’ to increase sales,” said James Huff, the associate director for chemical carcinogenesis at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ National Toxicology Program. “CSPI’s scientifically detailed report on possible health effects of food dyes raises many questions about their safety. Some dyes have caused cancers in animals, contain cancer-causing contaminants, or have been inadequately tested for cancer or other problems. Their continued use presents unnecessary risks to humans, especially young children. It’s disappointing that the FDA has not addressed the toxic threat posed by food dyes.”

CSPI’s report notes that FDA’s regulations mandate a stricter standard of safety for color additives than other food additives, saying that there must be “convincing evidence that establishes with reasonable certainty that no harm will result from the intended use of the color additive.” The standard of “convincing evidence” does not apply to preservatives, emulsifiers, and other additives.

CSPI charges that the FDA is not enforcing the law in several regards:

* Red 3 and Citrus Red 2 should be banned under the Delaney amendment, because they caused cancer in rats (some uses were banned in 1990), as should Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, which are tainted with cancer-causing contaminants.

* Evidence suggests, though does not prove, that Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, and Yellow 6 cause cancer in animals. There certainly is not “convincing evidence” of safety.

* Dyed foods should be considered adulterated under the law, because the dyes make a food “appear better or of greater value than it is”—typically by masking the absence of fruit, vegetable, or other more costly ingredient.

In a letter sent today, CSPI urged the FDA to ban all dyes because the scientific studies do not provide convincing evidence of safety, but do provide significant evidence of harm.

A ninth dye, Orange B, is approved for coloring sausage casings, but in 1978 the FDA proposed banning it because it was found to be toxic to rats. The industry has not used Orange B in more than a decade. Also, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has labeled Citrus Red 2 a carcinogen, and the FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives said “this color should not be used as a food additive.” However, it poses little risk because it is approved only for coloring the skins of oranges.

Because of concerns about dyes’ impairment of children’s behavior, the British government asked companies to phase out most dyes by last December 31, and the European Union is requiring, beginning on July 20, a warning notice on most dyed foods. CSPI predicted that the label notice—“may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”—likely will be the death knell for dyes in all of Europe.

The greater government oversight and public concern across the Atlantic results in McDonald’s Strawberry Sundae in Britain being colored with strawberries, but in the United States with Red dye 40. Likewise, the British version of Fanta orange soda gets its bright color from pumpkin and carrot extract, but in the United States the color comes from Red 40 and Yellow 6. Starburst Chews and Skittles, both Mars products, contain synthetic dyes in the United States, but not in Britain.

Fortunately, says CSPI, many natural colorings are available to replace dyes. Beet juice, beta-carotene, blueberry juice concentrate, carrot juice, grape skin extract, paprika, purple sweet potato or corn, red cabbage, and turmeric are some of the substances that provide a vivid spectrum of colors. However, CSPI warns that “natural” does not always mean safe. Carmine and cochineal—colorings obtained from a bright red insect—can cause rare, but severe, anaphylactic reactions. Annatto, too, can cause allergic reactions.

“Food Dyes: Rainbow of Risks” was written by Sarah Kobylewski, a Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular Toxicology Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Jacobson is author of Eater’s Digest: The Consumer’s Factbook of Food Additives (Doubleday, 1972).

[HuckleB]

16. More Gish Galops.

[proverbialwisdom]

17. No, checkmate. Or, more politely, QED.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q.E.D.

[proverbialwisdom]

19. Wishful thinking, IMO. Check it out: 35 YEARS, BUILDING A HEALTHIER AMERICA (pg 19-20)

https://www.cspinet.org/CSPI_35thAR.pdf

35 YEARS, BUILDING A HEALTHIER AMERICA PDF



PAGES 19-20

“CSPI has consistently shined a bright light on the
nutritional ills of the standard American diet.”
New York Times
o
“CSPI has forced a ban on sulfites at salad bars …
shamed McDonald’s into excising beef tallow from
its french fryers, roused movie goers against arteryclogging
coconut oil in popcorn, slapped olestra
with a gastrointestinal warning and successfully
lobbied for nutrition labels on all supermarket
processed-food items.”
Time magazine
o
“For CSPI, it is a broad battle over the soul and
safety of modern food, pitting the wholesomeness
of Mother Nature against the corrupting power of
big business and biotechnology.”
Los Angeles Times
o
“The junk food purveyors have met their match in
CSPI.”
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
o
“CSPI has conducted an unrelenting and brilliant
crusade against saturated fat, salt, and other evils in
the American diet. Its pronouncements pack a
mighty wallop.”
Science & Government Report
o
“CSPI is North America’s most well-known health
advocacy group.”
Toronto Star
o
“Nutrition Action is one of the most useful tools and
credible sources of information on nutrition and
health.”
Dean Ornish, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of California
o
“The whistle-blowers at CSPI – who cracked down
on fatty movie theater popcorn, fettuccine Alfredo,
and fast-food meals – are now reporting that most
kids’ menus in America’s restaurants serve up
‘stunning’ amounts of calories and bad fat.”
WebMDHealth
o
“CSPI polices the nation’s food supply.”
CNN
o
“CSPI is an effective advocate of its position … they
have a full bag of tricks.”
National Food Processors Association
o
“My personal favorite is Nutrition Action.”
Jane Brody
New York Times
o
“CSPI’s list of accomplishments is long and includes
blowing the whistle on how baby food in Canada
differed from the U.S. They’ve been instrumental in
bringing about mandatory nutrition labelling in
Canada.”
National Post (Canada)
o
“What CSPI wants to see is labels, labels, labels.
Bring on the numbers: calories, fat, portion size.
Now that packaged food has all this data, they’d
like to see it on restaurant menus.”
Baltimore Sun
o
“Nutrition Action gives all the gritty details about
foods that may be dangerous ... It’s worth the
subscription price.”
Newsday
o
“CSPI can take credit for the nutrition labels on foods.
And it is admired even by the government agencies it
often chastises, and by much of the public.”
Houston Chronicle
o
“Nutrition Action takes the ‘action’ part of its name
seriously, and the advocacy angle certainly distinguishes
it from other health newsletters.”
Washington Post
o
“CSPI has led the government, the industry, and the
public in understanding the connection between
diet and health. And, in doing so, CSPI has accomplished
one of the great public health advances of
the century.”
Dr. David Kessler
Former Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration
o
“Nutrition Action Healthletter debunks claims of
vitamin and mineral supplements and gives straight
talk on whether health claims for foods and supplements
can be back up by real science.”
Ottawa Citizen
o
“I’ve been a fan of Nutrition Action for years, eager to
read the latest information on fast foods, ice cream,
and everything else on the menu. You’ll become
addicted to the honesty and straight talk it serves
every time.”
Susan Dietz
Newsday & Creators Syndicate
o
“CSPI has had a significant impact on the way food
is made, sold, and advertised in this country. One
of the most powerful food voices in the country, its
influence is vast. CSPI is admired in the regulatory
agencies and on Capitol Hill for the quality of its
research and its persistence.”
New York Times

MORE:

http://cspinet.org/about/index.html
http://cspinet.org/about/mission.html

[greymouse]

20. very few people are salt sensitive,

salt's bad press to the contrary.