HACKETTSVILLE, N.J., Oct. 16, 2008
Candy's Guilty Pleasures To Be Revealed
CBS Evening News: Mars Inc. Set To Announce That Packages Will Boldly List Health Info
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Play CBS Video Video Chocolate Spotlight Mars Inc. plans on helping to curb obesity by putting new nutritional labels on products like M&M's and Skittles. CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon Lapook reports.
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Would you still eat as many M&Ms if you knew exactly how many calories they had? (CBS)
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"You see the calories, the total fat, the saturated fat, the sugars, and sodium content of the product," said Ralph Jerome, vice president of Mars.
Tomorrow, Mars Inc. will announce that M&Ms, Skittles, and, by the end of 2010, the rest of their candy will have new packaging that prominently displays all the guilty pleasure inside - in bold print.
"I think it's a great first step for food manufacturers," said Carol Byrd-Bredbenner, a nutrition professor at Rutgers University. "And it's more than a first step, in that, hopefully, it's going to be a trend that other food manufacturers will follow."
Nutrition labels have been required on all food for many years. But Mars says even chocoholics want them to be easier to read.
With obesity rates soaring, there's been a movement to help consumers know exactly what they're putting in their mouths.
In 2007, New York City required chain restaurants to display calorie information on menu boards. Last month, California followed suit. And Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut say they'll also do it.
It's not about stopping people from eating what they want, it's about giving them enough clear information to make healthy choices. But does it mean people will start eating less chocolate now?
"I don't think so. We've been nutritionally labeling for a long time so I don't think people will be very surprised at what's inside," Jerome said.
So, with all this transparency at Mars, will they now reveal one of the great secrets of the 20th Century?
"Why do M&Ms melt in your mouth and not in your hands?" LaPook asked Jerome.
"That's proprietary," he said with a smile.
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- Mongo like candy.
Posted by gop_will_win at 09:10 AM : Oct 17, 2008
Mongo just pawn in game of life. - Reply to this comment
- DAMMIT I thought this article was going to be about a stripper! The title is misleading!
- Reply to this comment
- Good food contains fat. Be realistic. I have made the choice to eat what I want, when I want and I have paid the price with my weight. I have been on successful diets and the ones that work follow the principle that it is not what you eat but how much you eat. I still eat a chocolate brownie but I have a small square instead of one the size of my head...lol
- Reply to this comment
- Mongo like candy.
- Reply to this comment
- You could call a candy 240 Calories of Hip Widening Lard and it would fly off the shelf. I applaud the industry for trying though.
- Reply to this comment
- Just-Kilaman, you''re a moron.
M&Ms have always melted in my hands. If they need to make the information bigger on the package so be it, but if people want to eat candy, they are going to eat candy. - Reply to this comment
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