The arrival of social media” community-based input, interaction, and content-sharing” has had a powerful influence on major food producers.
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The buzz on social media forced pink slime producer Beef Products, Inc. to shut down three of its four plants after consumers engaged in a swift and brutal social networking campaign.
And last week, Cargill publicized their intention to begin labeling pink slime products following last year’s social media flogging.
Another striking example of social media power is the pronouncement on packaging by many major food makers that their products contain no high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS.
HFCS is the most common sweetener used in virtually everything on grocery store shelves, including soft drinks, cereal, bread, ketchup, pancake syrups, fruit juices, fruit-flavored and frozen yogurts, and barbecue sauces.
While the corn industry spent thousands on propaganda ads in an attempt to convince the public that high-fructose corn syrup was not a health risk, the alarming truth about the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup circulated across social media platforms until critical mass was achieved, turning public opinion against HFCS forever.
Now more and more food producers are disclosing that their products contain no high-fructose corn syrup on packaging, because they know that’s what consumers want.
Which Brings us to Kraft
Responding to consumer pressure, Kraft has announced plans to remove Yellow No. 5 and No. 6 food dye from pasta shaped like SpongeBob SquarePants, Halloween and winter shapes.
Kraft spokeswoman Lynne Galia told CNN that new versions of the product would have six additional grams of whole grains, be lower in sodium and saturated fat and will use spices instead of artificial food dyes to create its usual yellow-orange color.
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Kraft will use spices such as paprika, annatto and turmeric” used in curry” in its new products to produce a bright yellow color.
“Parents have told us that they would like fun Mac & Cheese varieties with the same great taste, but with improved nutrition,” Galia told CNN.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) was pleased with Kraft’s decision, but “puzzled” why Kraft would not change its original and popular elbow-shaped macaroni product as well.
Michael Jacobson, the executive director of CSPI points out that synthetic dyes promote hyperactivity in children and are a cancer risk.
In 2010, CSPI urged the FDA to ban three of the most commonly used dyes: Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. A CSPI report claims these dyes contain known carcinogens and contaminants that increase the risks of cancer, hyperactivity in children and allergic reactions.
“These synthetic chemicals do absolutely nothing to improve the nutritional quality or safety of foods, but trigger behavior problems in children and, possibly, cancer in anybody,”said Jacobson, co-author of the report.
“The Food and Drug Administration should ban dyes, which would force industry to color foods with real food ingredients, not toxic petrochemicals”
Jacobson found that Yellow 5 caused mutations in numerous studies and most other food dyes have not been adequately tested.
Jacobson added that citrus Red 2″ known to cause bladder cancer in mice and rats” is used to color the skins of some oranges, and the abstract of one unpublished mouse study says that the dye Blue 1 caused kidney tumors.
Furthermore, Yellow 6, Red 40 and Yellow 5, are all contaminated with illegally high levels of benzidine and 4-aminobiphenyl, known carcinogens.