Kraft Foods Expands its Healthy Living Initiative

20/04/07 Trying to eat better but don't know where to start? Recent studies show that some Americans have a difficult time understanding nutrition facts labels. Additionally, more than three- quarters of Americans claim it can be a challenge to eat right. To help families make smart choices for meals and snacks, Kraft continues to broaden its better-for-you product offerings and provide additional resources at consumers' fingertips as part of its Healthy Living initiative.

"In response to consumer concerns around health and wellness and because it's critical to the long-term success of Kraft, our Healthy Living initiative remains a top priority," says Laurie Hirsch, Kraft's Director of Health and Wellness. "For more than a century, families have turned to Kraft for innovative products and meal solutions. We're dedicated to helping make healthy living a priority in every household. That means for every aisle of the store that Kraft is in, so is a Kraft Sensible Solution product."

Kraft Sensible Solution -- "Flagging" Better-for-You Foods

The most recent addition to the Healthy Living initiative is Kraft Sensible Solution, a front-package labeling system designed to help shoppers easily identify better-for-you foods. The Kraft Sensible Solution program provides consumers with practical information to help them easily choose from hundreds of healthful options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack time.

"Making smarter food choices doesn't have to be difficult," says Carol Altomare, registered dietitian at Kraft Foods. "By simply looking for the Sensible Solution flag on the front of more than 500 Kraft products, shoppers can quickly and easily find foods and beverages that are sound from a nutrition standpoint, and they don't have to be experts in nutrition."

Each product that carries the Sensible Solution flag has met nutrition criteria derived from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines, as well as statements from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, National Academy of Sciences, and other public health authorities. These criteria have also benefited from the input of Kraft's Worldwide Health & Wellness Advisory Council. Within the green flag, shoppers will find important information that will help them make beneficial decisions quickly -- such as whether a product is a good source of protein or fiber, or whether a product has zero grams of trans fats -- presented in a simple, at-a-glance format.

Products can qualify as Sensible Solution in one of two ways, by:

1. Providing beneficial nutrients such as protein, calcium or fiber/whole grain at nutritionally meaningful levels, or delivering a functional benefit, such as heart health, while staying within specific limits on calories, fat (including saturated and trans fat), sodium and sugar; or

2. Meeting specifications for "reduced," "low" or "free" in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar or sodium.

In addition to the large selection of Kraft products that currently meet better-for-you guidelines, Kraft will continue to introduce new products to the Sensible Solution family.

Coinciding with Kraft's expanded better-for-you product offerings, the KraftSensibleSolution.com Web site has recently been re-launched to provide helpful information and resources at consumers' fingertips. In addition to a complete list of more than 500 Kraft Sensible Solution products, the site offers:

-- An explanation of the Sensible Solution nutrition criteria and tips for reading food labels
-- Easy navigation that sorts products by food category
-- A robust search engine to find products based on health benefit or nutrition content
-- Delicious, Healthy Living recipes developed by the Kraft Kitchens Experts

Newest Sensible Solution Choices

Kraft is dedicated to offering new products to help Americans live and eat better. Below is a list of some of the latest Sensible Solution options:

-- Kraft South Beach Diet Breakfast Wraps
-- Breakstone's & Knudsen LiveActive Cottage Cheese for Digestive Health
-- Wheat Thins Heart Lovers Line
-- DiGiorno Harvest Wheat Pizza
-- Oscar Mayer Deli Shaved Smoked Turkey
-- Crystal Light On-The-Go White Tea Blueberry

More on Kraft Healthy Living

Kraft's Healthy Living initiative, of which the Kraft Sensible Solution program and Web site are a part, focuses on three areas: offering better-for- you products, providing information to help families make informed choices, and funding lifestyle programs to help communities be more active. Other examples of Kraft Healthy Living programs and resources include:

-- Kraft's Diabetic Choices program to help people with diabetes manage their health through meal plans and recipes;
-- The Healthy Living section of KraftFoods.com, which offers recipes featuring Sensible Solution products, plus tips on portion control and visualizing meal size, and tools like a body mass index (BMI) calculator;
-- Kraft's food & family magazine, which includes Healthy Living features on topics like popular diets and quick, nutritious meals;
-- Kraft is a co-sponsor of Triple Play, a lifestyle program designed to build healthy lifestyles in children by focusing on three areas: mind, body and soul. This involves making smart food choices, keeping fit with physical activity and building self-esteem. The program is offered through Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA).