A federal judge ruled this week that Vitaminwater will not, as its labels promise, keep you “healthy as a horse.” Nor will it bring about a “healthy state of physical or mental being”. Instead, Vitaminwater is really just a sugary snack food; non-carbonated fruit coke disguised as a sports drink. Because it’s composed mostly of sugar and not vitamin-laden water, judge John Gleeson held that Vitaminwater’s absurd marketing claims were likely to mislead consumers. [More]
Brits Stuffing Themselves With Junk Food
By June 18, 2010
Next time someone hassles you about how lousy the American diet is, point them to a new survey which shows that British consumers spend about 25% of their weekly food budget on junk food, including potato chips (or “crisps,” as they so quaintly call them), chocolate and soda. Then go finish your bag of chips. [More]
Beware The Fraudulent Doritos Coupon
By June 15, 2010
Frito-Lay is warning consumers to watch out for fake free bags of Doritos coupons being distributed via email. If you are an unsuspecting victim of this subterfuge and receive the coupon in your inbox, watch out! You might get to check out and not be able to get a free bag of Doritos with a value of up to $5. Here’s how you spot the real deal and the phonies, just like Holden Caulfield: [More]
Protein Shrink Ray Hits South Beach Cereal Bars
By January 25, 2010
Some of Kraft’s South Beach Living cereal bars have been reformulated, and the new label boasts that, in addition to a “new lower price,” the bars have “twice the protein of the leading cereal bars.” That might be true, given that most cereal bars are made up of little more than corn, rice, corn syrup, rice and corn. But the new bars actually have 20% less protein than the previous versions.
Should Vending Machines Post Calorie Counts?
By December 3, 2009
The Wall Street Journal Health Blog noticed that both health care reform bills currently making their way through our lovely government have provisions that require vending machines to display the calorie counts of items inside. [More]
Sugariest Cereals For Kids Get Pimped Hardest
By October 28, 2009
A new Yale report finds that cereal companies spent $156 million per year marketing to children, and most of that money gets plowed into pushing the sugariest cereals, which they try to pretend are healthy.
Should We Tax Junk Food?
By October 16, 2009
Should America tax junk food? Should we add a “fat tax” to the list of sin taxes? When most Americans eat fast food at least once a week, could we tax junk and subsidize healthy foods in the name of public health? Paul Michael of Wisebread thinks that it makes financial sense.
Walmart's "Junk Food In The Toy Aisle" Mystery Officially Solved
By September 10, 2009
Yesterday we posted a photo a reader sent in of a toy aisle in his local Walmart that was packed with junk food. We all got commenty on what exactly Walmart was doing—was it a one-off paid promo by Pepsi? A marketing experiment? A power-mad store manager driven crazy by shelving issues? Nah, it’s actually an intentional choice mandated by corporate.
Foods That Are Bad For You: Now Good For You!
By September 10, 2009
The Times has a write-up of the Smart Choices campaign, an industry-supported healthy foods labeling program that generously designates foods like Fruit Roll-Ups, mayonnaise, and Cocoa Puffs as good for you. “These are horrible choices,” says the head of the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health.
"Food In Real Life" Shows You Junk Food Without Makeup
By September 3, 2009
Not content to wait for the next installment of our occasional “Picture vs. Reality” series, someone has started “Food in Real Life,” which helpfully lowers your expectations of the microwaved treat you’re about to inhale at your desk.
Lay's Chip Tracker Helps You Find The Source Of Your Salty Snacks
By August 5, 2009
Do you lie awake at night, wondering where the potatoes in the bag of Lay’s chips you downed while watching “Dancing With the Stars” were grown? No, neither do most sane people. However, our alert colleagues over at ShopSmart magazine have discovered the Lay’s Chip Tracker, which can tell you the potato source based on the bag’s production code. No, seriously.
Fancy Fast Food Makes Your Favorite Junk Into Eye Candy
By July 10, 2009
We’re really intrigued by Fancy Fast Food, which takes standard fast food items and, using only those ingredients, transforms them into something approaching haute cuisine. The recipes are available on the site if you want to try at home. (Pictured above: the Tacobellini)
Venezuela Bans Coke Zero
By June 16, 2009
The AP is reporting that Venezuela has banned Coke Zero because the company allegedly didn’t declare a potentially harmful artificial sweetener when it “received its initial health permit to begin selling the product in April.”
Self Check-Out At Supermarket Means Fewer Impulse Buys
By June 3, 2009
Consumer Reports says that the supermarket self check-out line is better on your wallet and your gut. “You’ll find fewer snacks,” they write, “and because of the shorter wait time, you’ll have less time to contemplate a snack attack.” There’s even a study that shows impulse purchases dropped by nearly a third for women and a sixth for men when they chose the self check-out line. You also get to play with the scanner, touchscreen, and bag area, which is a lot more fun than just standing around. (That’s right, “bag area.”)
Convert Your Favorite Snack Into Sugar Cubes
By May 5, 2009
This website displays photos of soft drinks, smoothies, candy, and even vegetables next to little piles of sugar cubes that represent the total sugar in them. This is a great service, because if you ever go into space you can simply use this site to pack a baggie full of an equivalent amount of cubes. Then you can enjoy your Space McFlurry without worrying about liquid contamination of the spacecraft.
Grocery Growth Ray To Hit Ketchup, Chips
By February 24, 2009
A grocery growth ray is set to hit a popular condiment and several kinds of baked corn with names ending “tos.” To push the brands as being good values, Heinz will be selling slightly larger ketchup bottles, and Frito-Lay is adding 20% to Tostitos, Fritos, Cheetos and Doritos – without raising the price. Unlike the grocery shrink ray, you can bet this change will be loudly trumpeted on the package.
Coke Sued Over VitaminWater Claims
By January 15, 2009
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has announced a class-action lawsuit against Coca-Cola over its VitaminWater line, on the grounds that it makes deceptive claims about the nutritional benefits of its drinks.
7 Most Unhealthy Carnival Foods
By July 1, 2008
There are few things in the universe more evil than carnival food. Why do they feed us deep-fried sugary food before we get on rides that spin us around and around? Why is it that carnies aren’t all 500 lbs.? Must be the meth. Check out Newsweek’s list of the 7 most unhealthy carnival foods.
