Activists Take On 'Smart Choices' Nutrition Label

(MoneyWatch)  Change.org is organizing a letter writing campaign against the Smart Choices front-of-package nutrition label program, which recently caught flak for its designation of Froot Loops as a healthy option. Even the Food and Drug Administration has expressed skepticism about the program.

Kellogg's, PepsiCo and ConAgra were all involved with Smart Choices, but Change.org isn't bothering to deal with them directly. Instead, it's focusing its attention on the medical experts who collaborated in developing the label criteria.

The reality is that the food industry is using the Smart Choices program to deceive parents and other shoppers into buying the very food that has led to a costly epidemic of diabetes and obesity -- and researchers like [Smart Choices board president] Dr. [Eileen] Kennedy are abetting this deception by associating themselves and their respective institutions with the program.

Kennedy recently told the New York Times that Froot Loops deserved the Smart Choice designation because it's a better breakfast option than doughnuts. Change.org is urging people to write letters not only to Kennedy and three other doctors but also to the universities and other institutions they work for.

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