Page 32 - DESPA 26 FEB 2016

A6

U.S. NEWSFriday 26 February 2016

Snacks nation: Judge: NYC can penalize chains

Food makers turning everything into snacks that don’t post warnings on salt

CANDICE CHOI is comparable in size to a it’s inspiring some compa- JAKE PEARSON This undated provided by
AP Food Industry Writer bag of potato chips). nies to try and transform Associated Press the New York City Health
NEW YORK (AP) — There Even Hershey is try- everyday foods into more NEW YORK (AP) — Large Department shows an icon
are no meals anymore, ing to become more exciting snacks. chain restaurants and fast- of a salt shaker that serves
only snacks. of a snacks player with Snacks can have good food eateries in the na- as a graphic warning to
As around-the-clock graz- “snack mixes” that seem profit margins, too. Prices tion’s most populous city NYC consumers of high salt
ing upends the way peo- like trail mix, except with will vary depending on the can be fined up to $600 content in foods.
ple eat, companies are rei- Reese’s peanut butter cups retailer, but the suggested beginning next week for (NYC Health Department via
magining foods that aren’t and mini chocolate bars retail price for a snack pack not posting salt warnings AP)
normally seen as snacks to (280 calories per package). of Hillshire’s grilled chicken on menu items that con-
tain more than the recom- third of the city’s restau-
Spam Snacks, left, Skippy P.B. Bites, center, and Hillshire Genoa Salami with cheese and crackers mended daily dose of sodi- rant business. Panera, Ap-
are arranged for a photo, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, in New York. As around-the-clock graz- um, a judge ruled Wednes- plebees and other chains
ing upends the way people eat, companies are reimagining foods that aren’t normally seen as day. have already started post-
snacks to elbow in on the trend. “Some people love salty ing salt-warning labels.
food and are just going to Preston Ricardo, who
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) eat those salty foods re- represented the National
gardless of whether there’s Restaurant Association,
elbow in on the trend. That “People are snacking more is $2.49, while Kellogg’s To a salt icon next to it,” Su- likened the salt-shaker
means everything includ- and more, sometimes in- Go pouch sells for about $2. preme Court Justice Eileen icons to warnings for bio-
ing grilled chicken, cereal, stead of meals, sometimes Kellogg is also marketing Rakower said from the hazardous material that
chocolate, peanut butter with meals, and sometimes regular bowls of cereal as a bench. would confuse consum-
and even Spam are now in between meals,” said late-night snack, and says it ers, steer them to restau-
being marketed as snacks. Marcel Nahm, who heads can do more to push Pop- “I believe information is rants not required to post
Some are trying to jump North American snacks for Tarts as an anytime snack. power.” them and violate the First
into the party by playing Hershey. He said Hershey’s Hormel recently introduced The ruling dismissed a chal- Amendment rights of res-
up protein. Meat process- research shows some peo- Skippy P.B. Bites, which are lenge from the National taurant owners forced to
ing giant Tyson launched ple snack “10 times a day.” candy-like balls of peanut Restaurant Association post them.
HillshireSnacking this year Snacking has been en- butter marketed as filling brought just days after “The irreparable harm is
with packs of cut-up chick- croaching on meals for treats for kids. the first-of-its-kind rule was real,” he said, arguing
en that people are sup- years, of course, fueled in A serving has 160 calories enacted in December. It that there’s controversy
posed to grab and eat with part by the belief that sev- and 8 grams of sugar, with is but the latest in a series among scientists them-
their hands (120 calories eral smaller meals a day each canister containing six of healthy eating mea- selves about how much
per pack). Canned meat are better than three big servings. The canister costs sures pioneered by New salt is too much. The as-
maker Hormel is testing ones. Snacks now account around $3.50 and isn’t sup- York City public health of- sociation planned to ap-
“Spam Snacks,” which are for half of all eating occa- posed to be a single snack, ficials that have been chal- peal the ruling, he said.
dried chunks of the famous sions, with breakfast and but Hormel president Jim lenged in the courts, in- The average American
meat in re-sealable bags lunch in particular becom- Snee says “unfortunately it cluding an overturned rule consumes about 3,400
(220 calories per bag). ing “snackified,” according can end up being that.” limiting the size of sugary mg of sodium per day
People with a sweet tooth to the Hartman Group, a Prescribing an ideal eat- drinks and an upheld re- and experts say too much
aren’t being forgotten. Af- food industry consultancy. ing pattern for everyone quirement that chains post salt can increase the risk
ter years of slumping ce- But more recently, the blur- is difficult given people’s calorie counts on menus. of high blood pressure,
real sales, Kellogg recently ring lines are making peo- varying lifestyles, said “This is really good news for heart disease and high
introduced Kellogg’s To ple reach for snacks with Claudia Zapata, a regis- the health of New Yorkers,” blood pressure. The fed-
Go pouches, which hold benefits they might other- tered dietitian in San An- said Dr. Mary Bassett, the eral government recom-
slightly larger pieces of wise get from a meal, like tonio, Texas. But she noted city’s health commissioner. mends people consume
cereal the company says protein or fiber. That has led that snacks should gener- The fines take effect March less than 2,300 mg of salt
were “specifically created to ingredients like chick- ally be 250 calories at most 1. per day.
to be eaten by hand” (190 peas, lentils and quinoa and are meant to tide peo- Under the rule, restaurant The salt-warning labels,
calories per pouch, which popping up in snacks. And ple over between meals. q owners must now post dis- initiated by current Demo-
tinct triangle icons with cratic Mayor Bill de Blasio,
salt-shaker images inside follow a string of public
on menus next to items health initiatives cham-
that top the recommend- pioned by former Mayor
ed daily limit of 2,300 milli- Michael Bloomberg, such
grams of sodium, about a as an attempt to ban
teaspoon’s worth. oversized sugary drinks,
Public health officials have restrict the use of trans fats
long argued that Ameri- in restaurants and pro-
cans consume too much hibit smoking in bars and
salt, and point to cheddar restaurants.q
bacon burgers with nearly
4,300 mg and boneless
Buffalo chicken salads with
more than 3,000 mg as
proof.
The warnings will apply
to chains with at least 15
outlets nationwide, which
health officials estimate
account for about one-