According to the Snack Food Association (SFA), the guidelines developed by the newly created Alliance for a Healthier Generation are a way to allow the food industry to help improve the health of American children.
"While we do not believe that any single food, ingredient, or category of food is the cause - or the solution - to the obesity challenge, the Snack Food Association wants to do our part in helping parents, educators, health professionals and kids address this very complex problem," said Richard Rudolph, chairman of SFA, a trade group representing snack manufacturers and suppliers worldwide.
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation was set up as a joint initiative by former President Bill Clinton and the American Heart Association. In October last year, major food firms Kraft, Mars, PepsiCo, Dannon and Campbell put their weight behind the alliance, pledging to reformulate certain products, as well as introduce new lines of healthier snacks for kids.
Most recently, the Bachman Company, Rudolph Foods Company, Shearer's Foods, and Ubiquity Brands also joined the initiative.
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation said its science-based nutritional guidelines promote nutrient-rich foods, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and place limits on calories, fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar and sodium.
Developed in conjunction with nutrition experts at the American Heart Association, the guidelines apply to foods that are not part of the National School Lunch Program and that are offered for sale to students before, during and after the school day.
Foods covered by the program include snacks, desserts and side items sold throughout schools, including school vending machines, ala carte lines, school stores, snack carts and fundraisers.
Under the guidelines, products can have no more than 35 percent of their calories from total fat and 10 percent of calories from saturated fat. They can contain no more than 35 percent sugar by weight and can have no more than 230 milligrams of sodium. No trans fats are allowed.
According to the alliance's industry director Brian Herr, reported results of the guidelines' impact will not be available until the end of the year. He added, though, that there has already been significant interest from schools interested in taking part in the program.
The alliance is currently working with more than 1,100 schools across the country to change the types of foods and beverages sold in schools. It expects the number of schools taking part in the initiative will grow "at least six-fold" within the next school year.
As part of its work to help schools switch to healthier products, the alliance is providing support in contracting with competitive food suppliers. The products recommended by the group are manufactured by the companies that have pledged their support to the initiative.
However, Herr told FoodNavigator-USA.com that the alliance does not aim to "promote" any particular products, nor does it receive any funding from the food firms involved. Instead, it expects a commitment from the firms of investment in product development and reformulation , and promotion efforts to encourage children to consume healthier products in schools.
The Alliance for a Healthier Generation was set up in May 2005 in an effort to help combat the rising childhood obesity epidemic. It launched its Healthy Schools Program in February last year in order to encourage the establishment of certain nutritional and physical education standards in schools.
In May 2006, it announced an agreement with leaders in the beverage industry to sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat and non-fat milk in elementary and middle schools.
The alliance has also partnered with the number one kids' television network Nickelodeon on the Let's Just Play Go Healthy Challenge - an on-air, online and grassroots effort to mobilize kids to adopt healthy lifestyles. To date, over 100,000 kids have pledged to Go Healthy as a result of the campaign.
