Makes ya wonder! I found an article in today's paper about food industry changes. At least they got a few things right! What's wrong, though, has me concerned.

By Lance Gay
Scripps Howard News Service

Food industry trims the fat

WASHINGTON--The convenience-food industry says it's going on a diet.

Makers of familiar products on most kitchen shelves, after years of arguing that more exercise could solve America's obesity problem, told a Consumer Federation of America conference on obesity they are removing trans fats from cookies, adding salads to menus and scrapping oversize portions.

"This is the largest issue we are dealing with in the food business today," said Brock Leach, vice president of Pepsico.

Pepsico is developing new lines of reduced-sugar soft drinks and has recently finished removing trans fats from its snack products. Kraft, meanwhile, says it is developing an ultra-low-fat Philadelphia-brand cream cheese and has reduced or eliminated trans fats in its Triscuits, Wheat Thins and other snack crackers.

Trans fats are man-made oils added to foods to increase their shelf life. Studies have concluded that consumption of trans fats leads to higher levels of unhealthy blood cholesterol.

Michael Mudd, Kraft's executive vice president of global corporate affairs, said his company also is ending in-school ads and promotions testing smaller sizes and reducing trans fats in foods.

But he said the company is finding "enormous pushback" from consumer testing groups. Some participants felt corporations were just using the fight against obesity as an excuse to cut the size of portions, he said.

Shelly Rosen, director of McDonald's "Eat Smart, Be Active" program, said her company is offering salads, and by December will have stopped the marketing campaign that encourages customers to buy "super-sized" portions.

Mcdonald's is also offering bags of apples and grapes for lunch on an experimental basis, with some success among female customers.

Rosen cautioned that Mcdonald's has not had much luck in the past with alternatives to its famous hamburger, which remains the chain's top-selling item. In 1991, Mcdonald's tried mareting a $1.99 McLean Delux hamburger made with lean hamburger, but scrapped the idea because customers wanted the traditional hamburger.

Consumer groups, which have pushed fast-food restaurants to add salads and other vegetables to their menus, said the changes were overdue and urged the industry to do more.

"These changes are more modest than meaningful," said Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based interest group.

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Okay--there it is--Phew! At least, fellow LC'ers, let us be glad in the fact someone finally is seeing transfats as bad things!