A well-known food company has announced that it will soon warn consumers to only eat some of their products once a week, due to their high fat, sugar, and sodium contents.
According to The Huffington Post, Mars Food plans to tell its customers to eat some of its Dolmio pasta sauces and macaroni cheese no more than once a week if they want to maintain a balanced diet.
As bizarre as it may seem, Mars Food is not trying to push away its loyal customers—in fact, they’re hoping for the exact opposite.
Being a privately owned U.S. food company in a time when health experts are trying to combat the growing obesity epidemic puts Mars in a tough spot.
In an attempt to appear more health conscious, without sacrificing the taste or quality of their most beloved products, Mars Food has decided to let their customers know which products should be eaten only occasionally.
Foods that are especially high in fat, sugar, or salt—like Dolmio lasagne meal kits and lasagne sauces—will now come with labels that encourage “occasional” consumption, meaning once a week.
Products with lower levels of fat, sugar, and salt, however, will be labelled as “everyday” foods that are healthy enough to eat on a regular basis.
In the next five years or so, Mars Food, which also owns Uncle Ben’s rice, plans to reformulate many of its products to reduce their high fat, sugar, and salt contents.
It’s important to note, though, that Mars will not include these new labels on their candy and chocolate products, like sweets made by M&M’s, Snickers, and Starburst.
Within the next few months, Mars Food will also post a detailed list of its “occasional” products and “everyday” products on its website.
