Choice slammed the cereal major for not signing up to the star labeling scheme. Launched in June, 2014, the initiative considers the overall nutritional profile of packaged foods, including salt, sugar and saturated fat, and rates the products with stars from one to five – the more stars, the healthier the product.
“It’s just not good enough that a major player like Kellogg’s, that sells popular brands Just Right, Special K, Coco Pops and Nutri-Grain, are withholding basic health information,” said Tom Godfrey, spokesperson for Choice.
“… Kellogg should be embracing the new system and celebrating the fact that Just Right and All Bran receive four and five stars respectively. On the flip side, Australians deserve to know that Nutri-Grain and Coco Pops both get two stars,” he continued.
Choice has started a 'Just Not Right' campaign against Kellogg, calling on consumers to petition for the cereal major to start using the health star system on pack.
Kellogg active in nutrition initiatives
Probed on why Kellogg had not yet adopted the front-of-pack star scheme, spokesperson Derek Lau told BakeryandSnacks.com: “Kellogg is committed to helping consumers make informed choices when it comes to nutrition and is closely looking at health star ratings.”
Lau said Kellogg had long supported front-of-pack labels and had in many cases led the way in providing nutrition information through other initiatives, including front-of-pack daily intake labeling in 2006.
What stars would Kellogg products have?
Just Right: 4 stars
Special K Original: 4 stars
All Bran Original: 4 stars
Coco Pops: 2 stars
Crunchy Nut: 2 stars
Froot Loops: 2 stars
Mini-Wheats Little Bites Original: 4.5 stars
Nutri-Grain: 2 stars
Rice Bubbles: 3 stars
Sultana Bran: 4 stars
Sugar reduction a 2015 focus
Lau said Kellogg had plenty of NPD in the pipeline for 2015, predominantly focused on sugar reduction.
“Kellogg is always seeking ways to improve the nutrition of our products, including less of things people don’t want and more of the things that they do.”