Hershey has joined Mars, Coke and Pepsi as a sponsor of the American Dietetic Association, which bills itself as “world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals,” and says its goal is to “optimize the nation’s health through food and nutrition.” Hershey? Nutrition? Actually, it’s the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition, which is devoted to “the sweet science of chocolate.” Hey, we can live with that.

Of course, just because this tickles our tastebuds, it doesn’t mean it makes a whole lot of sense from a nutritional perspective. But never mind. Here’s what the ADA and Hershey are planning:

The Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition has become an ADA Partner in the Association’s corporate sponsorship program.

“The program helps ADA achieve our Association’s mission—to empower our members to be the nation’s food and nutrition leaders,” said registered dietitian and ADA President Judith C. Rodriguez. “Among the ways we accomplish our mission is by working with industry sponsors to include registered dietitians in the development of policies and products; sharing science-based information and new research with ADA members; and enabling ADA to reach millions of consumers with healthy-eating messages.”

The Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition develops and supports cutting-edge scientific research for products and technologies to provide consumers with a range of snacking choices.

Hershey won’t just be signing checks, but will also “collaborate” with the ADA on an “innovative, national consumer-focused nutrition education campaign.” We’re not sure what’s going to be included in the campaign, but judging from the Hershey Center’s current offerings, we assume we’ll be seeing more tips on “fitting chocolate into your diet” and inside info on the chemical composition of Twizzlers.

Hershey Teams Up With ADA [Press Release]
HERSHEY Center for Health & Nutrition : Home [Official Site]

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