False advertising?

ps139 · Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:30 pm

As I've been on SB for a little over a month I have noticed that there are so many products advertised as "low carb" and "whole wheat" and "Atkins/SB approved" and we really can't eat them. Does anyone think that these companies marketing departments are trying to direct them at us, knowing we cannot eat them? That is unethical. There have been a few times I bought something in the store, and later found out it was not Sb approved. Maybe I'm crazy, or does anyone else notice this?

DiamondSpark · Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:48 pm

You're not crazy -- false advertising like this is rampant. When I see "low-carb" food, I stay away from it for the most part, and if I look at it, I always read the ingredients first. It's a scam to make money. Many companies are jumping on the low-carb bandwagon without doing the proper research. As SBD is not low carb, it's best to stay away from most low-carb stuff. And always read the ingredients for "whole wheat" items -- I find at least 1/2 the time they are not whole wheat at all.

Krilia · Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:52 pm

There shouldn't be many things at all with the SB approved label. In fact, the only thing I've seen is the Louis Rich turkey bacon, but I imagine some Kraft stuff will carry it soon.

I second the motion to avoid things that say low carb on them. The only thing I use labeled like that are condiments (catsup, steak sauce), which basically just replace the sugar with sugar substitutes.

babice · Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:59 pm

Hi! Dr. Agaston does suggest you avoid things that are labeled "low carb" because they are adding other stuff (like sugar alcohols). Any of that "low carb" stuff you eat is supp'd to go toward your 75 cal per day limit.

Also, there's already some Kraft products out there that say "SB approved" and it turns out that is true. Kraft is also supp'd to be coming out with some frozen dinners, etc., soon that Dr. Agaston worked on with them. 8)

RedRox · Thu Feb 17, 2005 8:25 pm

Well since SB does not promote itself as a "low-carb" WOE, then it stands to reason that anything advertised as being "low-carb" isn't really false advertising as being OK for the SB program. I believe anything that says it is Atkins related and carries the Atkins seal, has either been created or approved by Atkins Nutiritonals Inc., but most Atkins stuff doesn't meet SB guidelines. In fact, there is no standardized definition of what constitutes "low-carb", or even "net carbs" for that matter. It is not dissimilar to the situation when "low fat" products first flooded the market. The mfgs. are ahead of the government and it takes awhile for the government to define what that means and of course the major food producing lobbies tend to work very closely with the goverment to define those standards to their benefit. So the consumer is usually not terribly involved and still needs to be aware of the rules and lack thereof as well.

Dr. A is working in conjunction with Kraft Foods to produce SB approved and recommended foods and those are the only ones that for now will carry that designation. There is some question whether even some of those would be considered "OK" if you were evaluationg them without looking at the front of the label.

For a mfg. to put whole wheat on a label, they only need to have a certain percentage of the flour come from whole grain sources. That is the "rule". Once you know the rule, you can then evaluate the product in that light. So we look for things that say 100% whole wheat or look at the ingredient list to ensure there are only whole grains being used. If we grab something that says whole wheat without looking at the ingredients, then I believe that is our fault, because we are not being good consumers.

Similarly you need to know the "rules" on trans-fats. Products can and do contain partially hydrogenated oils (trans-fats) and still can advertise that they have 0 gms of trans-fats implying they are trans fat free. Why? Because they have less than 0.5 gm PER SERVING and therefore are allowed to round down to zero. Once you know the rule, you can look at the ingredient list and see if there are actually any partially hydrogenated oils present and make your choices accordingly.

Is it false advertising? Not really, and not at all if you were trying to apply a legal arguement to it. They are, for the most part, doing what they are allowed to do under the rules, where they exist. Is it misleading advertising? Yes it probably is. I suggest you stop looking at the front of the label and focus on the nutrtional label and the ingredient list. Those are really our best sources of information in evaluating a product's SB worthiness. Knowledge is power and an informed consumer is a good consumer.

LisaB · Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:28 pm

I think those products are targeting those like me pre-SBD. I had heard of Adkins and knew it was "low-carb". I falsely assumed SBD was the same :oops: . SO, in my own effort to get healthy, I was being pulled towards the low carb stuff.

Now that I know what I'm doing and what to look for, I realize it is all marketing to sell stuff...just like the "low fat" was a few years ago. People automatically assume if it's "low carb", than it's diet food.

Lisa

RedRox · Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:58 pm

And that of course is the real danger with them. They make them sound healthy and good for you when you are being bombarded with messages about "low-carb" dieting and you naturally make the connection that low-carb = healthy and a way to lose weight. The guy next to me in the office came in with these "low-carb" shakes and was all proud of how healthy he was being, becuase I was doing SB and successfully losing weight so it just had to be the cheese sticks and the low carb thing that was doing it. It was of course short lived for him and he still looks the same. But you know he had the same opportunity to read a book and learn some basic nutritional concepts and make a lifestyle change that I did. So I don't see it as the companies' fault for riding a bandwagon and trying to increase sales and profits. That's their mission. There are a lot of factors at work, but personal responsibility has to fit in there somewhere too.

LOWCARBnBARB · Fri Feb 18, 2005 3:32 pm

I think the bottom line here is to be an informed consumer and not rely on fancy labelling. We all know that alcohol free beer doesn't necessarily mean that there is no alcohol in it. It just means that there is LESS than the approved amount in order for it to be called "alcohol free". Fat free, Sugar Free, Low Fat, Low Sodium, Low Carb and even Carb Free mean whatever the law "says" they can mean. We just have to take responsibility and inform ourselves by simply reading labels.

Barb

aubry · Fri Feb 18, 2005 9:59 pm

Unfortunately, so many people "assume" this is a low carb WOE. I noticed in the flyer for the local grocery chain this week. Was a big box for Kraft products promoting them for the SBD and right in the middle was a box of Carb-Well bars. I have no idea weather the promotion was strictly the grocery stores doing or if it came from Kraft. But, I was uphappy too see it like that. No wonder people have the wrong idea.

saralynn143 · Fri Feb 18, 2005 10:39 pm

aubry wrote: Unfortunately, so many people "assume" this is a low carb WOE. I noticed in the flyer for the local grocery chain this week. Was a big box for Kraft products promoting them for the SBD and right in the middle was a box of Carb-Well bars. I have no idea weather the promotion was strictly the grocery stores doing or if it came from Kraft. But, I was uphappy too see it like that. No wonder people have the wrong idea.

I saw in another post that the Carbwell bars are, unfortunately, labeled as South Beach approved. It may be that line that Dr. A was discussing as the SB-approved meal replacement bar.

aubry · Sat Feb 19, 2005 2:03 pm

[quote="saralynn143
I saw in another post that the Carbwell bars are, unfortunately, labeled as South Beach approved. It may be that line that Dr. A was discussing as the SB-approved meal replacement bar.[/quote]

UGH! I didn't realize that. I just hate too see meal replacement bars become part of SB. I knew it was going too happen. But, I've been there, done that, it didn't work. I just love this WOE and hate too see them change it. If it ain't broke don't fix it! Let people learn too eat and live healthy, the way our body was meant too! OK, done with my morning rant! LOL

LOWCARBnBARB · Sat Feb 19, 2005 7:53 pm

I agree. I think "meal replacement bars" are just a scam. They are never enough to "replace a meal" and often times make people eat more than they should because of the fact that they are still not "full". So the bars are a benefit to nobody but the diet food manufacturers in that your weight loss is going to be slowed up by the bars and therefore you will be buying weight loss products for a longer period of time than you would if you just stuck with REAL food. Just my opinion on them.

Barb


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