Smart Choices Companies Back Away From Crumbling Program

(MoneyWatch)  Smart Choices has wisely decided to put itself on hold. The front-of-label nutrition labeling scheme was supposed to help consumers quickly determine which products were better for them via a friendly green check mark on the front of the box, but the project attracted scrutiny from the media, the Food and Drug Administration and the state of Connecticut when it came out that endorsed Smart Choices products included things like low-fat ice cream bars and Froot Loops.

Those in charge of Smart Choices aren't backing down or acknowledging any flaws with the program. "Our nutrition criteria are based on sound, consensus science," Smart Choices chair Mike Hughes said. "But with the FDA's announcement this week that they will be addressing both front-of-package and on-shelf systems, and that uniform criteria may follow, it is more appropriate to postpone active operations and channel our information and learnings to the agency to support their initiative."

The companies themselves are a bit more skittish, however. Kellogg and Unilever will stop using the Smart Choices label on their products, at least while the FDA figures out its new criteria, and PepsiCo has pulled out of Smart Choices altogether. Pepsi spokesman David DeCecco tried to downplay the company's involvement in the first place: "We really just had our toe in the water," he said.

Kraft Foods is proving much more loyal. Presumably it won't add the Smart Choices label to any new products, now that the program is officially on hold, but it will continue labeling its existing Smart Choices products. "At this point, we don't have any plans to change," a spokeswoman said.

The food industry provided funding for Smart Choices in the first place, with fourteen companies covering $1.47 million in costs to develop the guidelines. But at this point, all it's really gotten them is bad publicity and ridicule. Backing away is the choice most deserving of its own green check mark.

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