Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 29, 1990 TAG: 9005270033
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARIA L. LA GANGA LOS ANGELES TIMES
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But there are many junk-food junkies and those who just must have coffee cake in the morning, chips at lunch and popcorn before bed.
Well, you're in luck. In recent months, grocery shelves have begun to bulge with sleek new incarnations of the previously sinful: Entenmann's fat- and cholesterol-free chocolate loaf cake, Pepperidge Farm's strawberry shortcake, Frito-Lay's Light Ruffles.
"Just about every company's jumped on the `lite' bandwagon," says Lynn Dornblaser, publisher of Gorman's New Product News, "because everyone wants to indulge. This way you can indulge and not be so bad."
But it's not all sweetness and light in the land of the low-fat bakery. Indulgence may be in, but so is confusion and controversy.
The Food and Drug Administration and several consumer groups contend that many food companies are misusing the "light" label to the detriment of U.S. shoppers. And some of the products touted as less sinful than their earlier counterparts aren't even very low in calories.
"The term `light' or `lite' is often an abused term on the labels of many products, because it's not clearly defined," Chris Lecos, an FDA spokesman, said.
"If you're trying to imply that it's light in sugar, there is no definition for what is meant for light in sugar. And we have no definition for light fat or high fat."
Consider the way Pepperidge Farm characterizes its Dessert Light chocolate-mousse cake: "Rich, moist chocolate cake smothered in a light chocolate mousse made with real whipped cream. . . . Chocolate heaven with low cholesterol at only 190 calories."
Real whipped cream? "Only" 190 calories? For 190 calories, the hungry at heart can gobble up a medium baked potato (90 calories) with butter (100 calories per tablespoon).
Pepperidge Farm spokeswoman Ann Davin acknowledges that consumers are often confused by labeling claims, because "light" can refer to calories, fat, or cholesterol. But she defends the way her company's Dessert Light line is packaged.
"I think the obligation of the manufacturer is to clearly label from what standpoint the product is light," Davin said. "Our labels make that clear. Our line is labeled as light in calories."
Manufacturers are targeting the same market that Levi Strauss tries to lure with jeans that have "a scosh more room in the seat and thighs:" baby boomers with blossoming bodies and doughnut dreams.
Dan Cowan, a spokesman for the 7-Eleven chain, says of Slurpee Light: "We think that there are a number of people who have grown up drinking Slurpee . . . who have this interest in drinking Slurpee again but feel guilty doing it. We're going to give them an opportunity to come back to Slurpee."
Of the 9,192 new food products introduced in 1989, more than 10 percent were touted as low-fat or low-calorie, Dornblaser said, but it was the number of new low-fat foods that "really hit the roof." In the past three years, low-fat product introductions nearly quadrupled, with 159 unveiled in 1987 vs. 626 in 1989.
To be dubbed low calorie, Lecos said, a product must contain no more than 40 calories per serving. For reduced calorie claims, a product must be at least one-third lower in calories than a similar food in which calories have not been cut.
Thus, Entenmann's misses the boat. A one-ounce slice of regular All-Butter Pound Cake is 115 calories, while a comparable slice of the new Golden Loaf Cake is 80 calories.
Mildred Johnson, for one, eschewed the baked goods Thursday morning in favor of Jello Light Pudding and Sugar-free Fudgesicles.
"Entenmann's may take out the fat and it may take out the cholesterol, but the sugar's still there," the Los Angeles woman said. "I'd rather have sweeteners. I'm nearly 83 and I've been eating [sweetener] for a long time and it hasn't done me any harm."
by CNB