Salt Sugar Fat (59 page)

364
“The council will give Kraft”
“Kraft Foods Announces 10 Members of Worldwide Health and Wellness Advisory Council,”
Business Wire
, September 3, 2003.

365
“Both my boys were appalled”
Ellen Wartella to author.

366
The session started out
I am grateful to various Kraft officials for discussion of the panel’s confidential work with me.

367
“I pointed this out”
Ellen Wartella to author.

368
sought to refute
Andrea Carlson and Elizabeth Frazao, “Are Health Foods Really More Expensive? It Depends on How You Measure the Price,” Economic Information Bulletin No. EIB-96, Economic Research Service, USDA, May 2012.

369
“Build and defend”
Kraft to Philip Morris Corporate Products Committee, June 24, 1996, in LT.

370
“We were trying”
Kathleen Spear to author.

371
“We’re a food business”
Ibid.

372
an advertisement began appearing
Amanda Amos and Margaretha Haglund, “From Social Taboo to ‘Torch of Freedom’: The Marketing of Cigarettes to Women,”
Tobacco Control
9 (2000): 3–8.

373
Only internally
“New Product Screening,” Philip Morris memo, March 1, 1972, in LT.

374
“High fat diets may”
Ernst Wynder et al., “Association of Dietary Fat and Lung Cancer,” American Health Foundation, New York City, 1986, in LT.

375
“ranks as one of the great”
Philip Morris Trial Counsel Seminar, La Jolla, California, May 9–12, 1990.

376
“As new management”
Kraft General Foods Orientation to Management Meeting, July 11–12, 1990, in LT.

377
“we’re helping busy consumers”
“A Powerful Company, Poised for Growth,” Presentation to Investment Community, New York City, June 28, 1999.

378
the company’s polling identified it
“Issues Management Q3 Omnibus Survey Key Results,” Philip Morris memo, November 7, 2000, in LT.

379
“Obesity is literally an epidemic”
Jay Poole speech to the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association meeting, 1999, in LT.

380
1999 strategy paper
“A New Approach to Our Mission: Lessons from the Tobacco Wars,” in LT.

381
“We’d been through a pretty hard time”
Geoffrey Bible to author.

382
“the right product for consumers”
Ibid.

383
“He talked about why”
John Ruff to author.

384
Bible told his food executives
Ibid.

385
“I used to come home”
Ibid.

386
from its own research
Kraft presentation to FDA, May 14, 2004.

387
officials met with the agency
Ibid.

388
the food industry was discussing
For an analysis of the systems being considered, see Ellen Wartella et al., “Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols,” Phase 1 Report, Institute of Medicine, October 13, 2010.

389
“That was in constant discussion”
John Ruff to author.

390
“In Capri Sun alone”
Marc Firestone to author.

391
managed to wrestle
The effort to cut 1.5 trillion calories is being overseen
by a food industry group and is being monitored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which in 2012 was working to design a system that could verify and track any changes the industry makes. One challenge in performing this chore, foundation officials told me, would be keeping abreast of the constant flux in grocery products, as new items replace the old; another is ensuring the calorie reductions are not undertaken merely in low-selling versions of the mainline products.

392
“Do you think”
Transcript, Kraft earnings conference call, July 16, 2003.

393
Holden gamely replied
Ibid.

394
removed from her job
Dave Carpenter, “Kraft Demotes Co-CEO Betsy Holden amid Product Setbacks,” Associated Press, December 16, 2003.

395
“The ‘Twist, Lick and Dunk’ ritual”
Anand Kripalu, Kraft Foods president for South Asia and Indonesia China,
Campaign India
, April 6, 2011.

396
“A refreshing drink”
Kraft Cadbury announcement, April 14, 2011.

397
“a broad market change”
Daryl Brewster to author.

398
“People who otherwise”
Ibid.

399
The 100-calorie concept
Elaine Wong, “100-Calorie Packs Pack It In,”
Brandweek
, May 26, 2009.

400
found that the small packs
Maura Scott, “The Effects of Reduced Food Size and Package Size on the Consumption Behavior of Restrained and Unrestrained Eaters,”
Journal of Consumer Research
35 (2008): 391–405.

401
But Hershey wasn’t worried
“Hershey Lures Lenny From Kraft,”
Chicago Tribune
, March 13, 2001; “Hershey Foods: It’s Time to Kiss and Make Up,” Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame, March 2003.

402
“Our desire was to be”
Daryl Brewster to author.

403
lineup of Oreo cookies
“Oreo Enters 100th Year Crossing the $2 Billion Mark; Plans to Reach $1 Billion in Developing Markets in 2012,” Kraft announcement, May 3, 2012.

404
Kraft’s big move
“Cadbury was the final piece of the puzzle,” a Kraft vice president, Chris Jakubik, said in a presentation to investors on September 15, 2010, entitled “Hitting Our Sweet Spot.” He described Kraft as “shifting from turnaround to growth” and said that the company was poised to lead the industry globally on snacks, with a leading 10.1% share of the market, far ahead of the second-largest snack seller, PepsiCo, at 7.6%.

405
“My wife saw this”
Comments on Kraft’s website for the cream cheese chocolate product.

406
more than ten grams
“Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans,” 2010, pages D6–17. Table salt is 40% sodium, so ten grams of salt is 4 grams of sodium, or 4,000 milligrams. A teaspoon holds about 6 grams of salt, or 2,300 milligrams of sodium.

407
published the results
Richard Mattes, and Diana Donnelly, “Relative Contributions of Dietary Sodium Sources,”
Journal of the American College of Nutrition
10, no. 4 (1991): 383–393.

408
relied heavily on salt
Mark Kurlansky,
Salt: A World History
(New York: Walker and Co., 2002).

409
“People love salt”
“10-Step Guide to Lowering the Sodium in Food and Beverage Products,” Cargill, 2009.

410
consider the number 2,300
In examining the health impact of excessive
sodium, the Dietary Guideline panel appeared ready to set the recommended maximum at 1,500 milligrams for all Americans, meeting transcripts show. But noting how far above this level most Americans were, the final report retained 2,300 milligrams as a ceiling. The American Heart Association recommends that all adults consume less than 1,500 milligrams per day. Several public health agencies have established sodium limits for children, too, ranging from 1,500 milligrams (ages 1–3 years) to 1,900 (4–8 years) to 2,200 (9–13 years).

411
lowered this target
“Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010.”

412
These 143 million people
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention parsed the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for sodium and determined that 57% of American adults meet the criteria for limiting their sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams a day, and that almost all of these people were exceeding the limit. “Usual Sodium Intakes Compared with Current Dietary Guidelines: United States, 2005–2008,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control, October 11, 2011.

413
turkey dinner from Hungry Man
Owned by the Pinnacle Foods Group, the Hungry Man products have been undergoing reformulations to lower the total sodium content.

414
“Most of the things we love”
Paul Breslin to author.

415
“I think the interest in making”
Ibid.

416
researchers reported the case
L. Wilkins and C. P. Richter, “A Great Craving for Salt by a Child with Corticoadrenal Insufficiency,”
Journal of the American Medical Association
114 (1940): 866–868.

417
One of Breslin’s favorite papers
Stephen Woods, “The Eating Paradox: How We Tolerate Food,”
Psychological Review
98, no. 4 (1991): 488–505.

418
One of the most intriguing accounts
Michael Morris et al., “Salt Craving: The Psychobiology of Pathogenic Sodium Intake,”
Physiological Behavior
94, no. 4 (2008): 709–721.

419
In 2006 a law firm
Joseph McMenamin and Andrea Tiglio, “Not the Next Tobacco: Defense to Obesity Claims,”
Food and Drug Law Journal
61, no. 3 (2006): 445–518. In April 2012, a forum in Washington hosted by the Grocery Manufacturers Association included a discussion of food addiction moderated by an official from Frito-Lay, and the panelists included a Pennsylvania State University professor of nutrition named Rebecca Corwin who believes the addiction issue should be focused more on the consumer. It is the
way
these foods are being eaten, not the foods themselves, that is problematic, she argues. Highly fat and sugary foods are addictive when people go to extremes and alternate between bingeing and abstaining. Her 2009 paper in the
Journal of Nutrition
elaborates on this: “Even highly palatable food is not addictive in and of itself,” she writes. “Rather, it is the manner in which the food is presented (i.e., intermittently), and consumed (i.e., repeated, intermittent ‘gorging’) that appears to entrain the addiction process.” R. L. Corwin and Patricia Grigson, “Symposium Overview: Food Addiction: Fact or Fiction,”
Journal of Nutrition
139, no. 3 (2009): 617–619.

420
“With few exceptions”
Paul Breslin to author.

421
people are drawn
Howard Moskowitz and Jacquelyn Beckley, “Craving and the Product: Looking at What We Crave and How to Design Products around It,” Moskowitz Jacobs Inc., 2001.

422
“Don’t let hunger”
In 2001, Mars won an Effie Award from the advertising industry for a campaign that used a variation on this theme: “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry.”

423
This idea that salt
Leslie Stein et al., “The Development of Salty Taste Acceptance Is Related to Dietary Experience in Human Infants: A Prospective
Study,”
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
95, no. 1 (2012): 123–129.

424
“Our data would suggest”
Anahad O’Connor, “Taste for Salt Is Shaped Early in Life,”
The New York Times
, December 21, 2011.

425
5 billion pounds
The United States Geological Survey estimates that 4 percent of all salt produced is used for food, with chemicals and ice control dividing the lion’s share. See Dennis Kostick, “Salt,”
2010 Minerals Yearbook
, U.S.G.S.

426
ten cents a pound
Cargill declined to disclose its prices or how much salt it produces. Pricing and production figures cited in this chapter are estimated by the author derived from food industry sources, public disclosures by other salt producers, and the U.S. Geological Survey, which tracks salt production.

427
“Salt!”
Alton Brown, Cargill salt promotional video.

428
Its revenue climbed
“Working to Feed the World,” 2011 Cargill Annual Report.

429
350 chartered cargo vessels
David Whitford and Doris Burke, “Cargill: Inside the Quiet Giant That Rules the Food Business,”
Fortune Magazine
, October 27, 2011.

430
4.8 million pounds
Estimate by author derived from U.S. Geological Survey reports and interviews with agency and industry officials. Dennis Kostick, “Salt,” Mineral Commodity Summaries, U.S. Geological Survey, January 2012.

431
a clever idea
Cargill officials to author.

432
The Union deployed
Kurlansky,
Salt
.

433
this alone would prevent
Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
, D6–16.

434
“Excessive intake”
Kristen Dammann to author.

435
The British knew well
Corinne Vaughan, “The U.K. Food Standards Agency’s Programme on Salt Reduction,” presentation to the Institute of Medicine, March 2009.

436
“A lot of people”
Jody Mattsen to author.

437
“Do you decide”
“10-Step Guide to Lowering the Sodium in Food and Beverage Products,” Cargill, 2009.

438
“Options such as potassium chloride”
Ibid.

439
have sought to discourage
“Guidance on Salt Reduction in Meat Products for Smaller Businesses,” British Meat Processors Association, London.

440
“People are starting to complain”
Graham MacGregor to author. MacGregor chairs an advocacy group, Consensus Action on Salt and Health. See L. A. Wyness et al., “Reducing the Population’s Intake: The U.K. Food Standards Agency’s Salt Reduction Programme,”
Public Health Nutrition
15, no. 2 (2011): 254–261.

441
“Salt really changes”
John Kepplinger to author; Michael Moss, “The Hard Sell on Salt,”
The New York Times
, May 30, 2010.

442
Kraft sent me a series
I’m grateful to the dining section staff of
The New York Times
, who joined me in tasting and evaluating this lower-salt ham.

443
“We often fall off a cliff”
Russell Moroz to author; Moss, “Hard Sell on Salt.”

444
reported a litany
“Proposals to Revise the Voluntary Salt Reduction Targets: Consultation Response Summaries,” Food Standards Agency, London.

445
“Have stopped short”
Ibid. A review of the U.K. salt reduction efforts was undertaken by the consulting firm Leatherhead Food Research, which suggested that numerous manufacturers were hitting some walls in attempting to lower the sodium in their foods. However, consumer advocates, including Graham MacGregor, believe that more reductions will be attainable as the public’s preference for salty taste is lowered. Rachel Wilson et al., “Evaluation of Technological Approaches to Salt Reduction,” Leatherhead Food Research, 2012.

446
“If we reach these goals”
Author transcript of press conference.

447
One look at the guidelines
“National Salt Reduction Initiative Packaged Food Categories and Targets,” New York City Health Department.

448
volunteered only their easiest foods
“NSRI Corporate Commitments and Comments,” New York City Health Department.

449
scientific journal reviewer
These journal reviews are highly confidential, undisclosed even to the study authors being reviewed. I thank the reviewer for sharing these comments with me. In response, Campbell said that the study was unrelated to the sodium content of its juice and that it believed the vegetables claim remained valid.

450
Their recent achievements
Data supplied by Campbell to author.

451
“The reality is”
George Dowdie to author.

452
“The question has been”
Ibid.

453
“Sodium reduction is important”
Maria Panaritis, “New Campbell’s CEO: Just Add Salt,”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, July 13, 2011; Martinne Geller, “Campbell Stirs Things Up,” Reuters, July 15, 2011. A week later, Campbell said that it remained committed to reducing the sodium in its products. “It’s vital we provide people with a choice,” Denise Morrison, the incoming CEO, said in the company’s public release. “Campbell Continues to Provide Consumers with an Array of Lower-sodium Choices,” Business Wire, July 20, 2011.

454
“We look for future results”
Martinne Geller, “Campbell Adds Salt to Spur Soup Sales,” Reuters, July 12, 2011.