First Lady, Wal-Mart Roll out Healthy Food Push

WASHINGTON - Wal-Mart, the nation's largest grocer, says it will reformulate thousands of products to make them healthier and push its suppliers to do the same, joining first lady Michelle Obama's effort to combat childhood obesity.

The first lady accompanied Wal-Mart executives Thursday as they announced the effort in Washington. The company plans to reduce sodium and added sugars in some items, build stores in poor areas that don't already have grocery stores, reduce prices on produce and develop a logo for healthier items.

"No family should have to choose between food that is healthier for them and food they can afford," said Bill Simon, president and CEO of Wal-Mart's U.S. division.

As the largest grocer in the United States, Wal-Mart's size gives it unique power to shape what people eat. The grocery business is nearly twice the size of No. 2 competitor Kroger. The company also has massive influence on products made by other manufacturers and sold at the store.

Mrs. Obama said the announcement has "the potential to transform the marketplace and help Americans put healthier foods on their tables every single day."

"We are really gaining some momentum on this issue, we're beginning to see things move," she said.

Wal-Mart plans to reduce sodium by a quarter and cut added sugars in some of its private label products by 2015. It also plans to remove remaining industrially produced trans fats.

A number of food makers have made similar moves, lowering sodium in their products based on shopper demand and increasing scrutiny by health groups. Bumble Bee Foods, General Mills Inc., Campbell Soup Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Kraft Foods Inc. all announced sodium reductions to their products in this spring alone.

Food makers say they are trying to reduce sodium gradually, making it a more palatable change to its customers and giving the industry time to reformulate products. Most said they support efforts to curb sodium in American's diets but are waiting to see if the Food and Drug Administration decides to mandate a reduction.

Wal-Mart said it would reduce prices on fruits and vegetables by $1 billion a year by attempting to cut unnecessary costs from the supply chain. The company also said it would work to reduce price premiums on healthier items made with more expensive ingredients.

"Our customers often ask us why whole wheat pasta sometimes costs more than regular pasta made by the same manufacturer," said Wal-Mart's Andrea Thomas, senior vice president of sustainability.

Mrs. Obama has a history of working with Wal-Mart. She once served on the board of Westchester, Ill.-based TreeHouse Foods Inc., a food supplier for the store, but resigned in 2007 while her husband was campaigning for the presidency. Barack Obama had criticized the store over wages and benefits it pays employees.

[lily777]

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for gig76-It all depends on your definition of good and abundance, something nice for others, may be giving them the truth rather than rainbows and unicorns. I am a very positive person that prefers truth to platitudes, reality to utopian visions and healthy discord to silence.

[RedWings_ninety_one]

The only food that I buy at Walmart is junkfood and pop (Michigan, one of the last places that still says pop). For everything else I shop at Meijer. Every toothless redneck and their brother seems to shop at Walmart.

[RedWings_ninety_one]

Joe,
Ya..we bought chicken nuggets from Walmart once, the meat was a dark grey color and they weren't overcooked..now we use Meijer. In Big Rapids, there are the 3 main stores of Kmart, Walmart, and Meijer. Kmart os next to out of business, everytime I go in it is like walking into Death Valley, there is no one there. There are a lot of other stores like, Peebles, MC Sports, Lowes, Menards. The town is growing due to Ferris State University, where I now go to school. Ferris more than doubles the size of the town evrey year when the students come back, otherwise Big Rapids has only about 15,000 people.

The only sport that I pay attention to at Ferris is hockey because...A. I work at the Ewigleben ice arena, and B. It is our only Division I sport, so we play teams like Michigan State and my personal favorite, the University of Michigan....anyway that is a little about Big Rapids.

[not_fooled_by_Righties]

I wouldn't eat food from Walmart if it was free! Probably from China loaded with heavy metals.

[crazyname]

Building stores in low income high crime neighborhoods is a nice idea, but think of those that put their lives onthe line behind the cash register and those walking out to their cars. On top of that,is Michell going to make sure the stores are profitable or subsidize them with federal funds if they loose money?
She is looking a little heavy herself! Comes with age darling. If you want to have kids eat healthy, you buy healthy foods, they are allready in stores near you! Don't need to come up with new gimmics. Plus much of the so called healthy foods taste like saw dust.

[lily777]

And the moving of Wal Mart into poor areas--that's where the food stamps are--so they are already partners with the government in that without food stamps their profits would tumble big time. In Western New York--food stamps are the only thing keeping grocery stores open--since there are no real jobs.

[lily777]

The only reason that Wal Mart is using less sugar in their products is for cost containment--have any of you seen the cost of sugar lately? This is using an economic reality for political purposes--has nothing to do with Mrs. Obama--sorry. Though the poor and or ignorant that shop at Wal Mart may not object as much if they think it's being done for their own good.

[GunsInTheSky]

I applaud Wal-Mart, but we can eat cheap AND healthy today.

Oatmeal (just oatmeal...not the prepackaged kind with all the sugar added) is cheap. Bananas are cheap. 1% or Skim Milk is relatively inexpensive too. You have a healthy breakfast for the week for about $2 per day?and you will have oatmeal left over for the next week.

For lunch buy a loaf of wheat bread (check the labels and make sure are getting the healthier kind), 1 lb. of turkey breast from the deli counter, and some mustard. Grab a head of broccoli and cauliflower. You have a healthy lunch for the week for about $2.50 per day.

[jsf14]

Good. Now if someone will just test produce for nutritional value. A while back they tested some common items and compared the values to those determined in the 1950s and found the nutrient level per ounce up to 50% less.

[goirish1974]

I went to one of our stores here for one item a couple of years ago. I will never go back. I refuse to spend my money in their stores. I'll shop elsewhere and pay more. Their merchandise is trash and their cashiers are horrible.

[butrflies]

I am very happy about this. I have comparrison priced at many different grocery stores and have found Wal-mart saves me quite a bit each week on the exact same products. Raising a family of 4 is not easy in these economic times. I am happy to have the choice and know my money goes further. Why pay more for the same products!? Thank you Wal-mart and our free market! I will be happy to see a wider variety of fruits and vegis :-)