Kraft No Longer Running Dairy-Weight Loss Advertising

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Kraft No Longer Running Dairy-Weight Loss Advertising

http://www.pcrm.org/news/archive050819.html

 

Washington, D.C.—Kraft Foods, Inc., has confirmed that it is no

longer running advertisements suggesting that dairy products

encourage weight loss. In response to Kraft's statement, the

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has dropped Kraft from

a lawsuit that called the advertisements deceptive. In late June,

PCRM filed suit against Kraft, General Mills, Dannon, McNeill

Nutritionals, Lifeway Foods, the National Dairy Council, Dairy

Management, Inc., and the International Dairy Foods Association

charging that the heavily advertised claim that dairy products

encourage weight loss is scientifically unsubstantiated. After the

suit was filed, Kraft stated publicly and then confirmed in

subsequent discussions with PCRM that it had no plans to restart

them. Kraft, the only defendant who has entered into discussions

with PCRM to date, is the first defendant dropped from the suit. The

Illinois-based corporation—along with other major dairy associations

and manufacturers—has been promoting increased dairy consumption as

a weight-loss method since 2003.

 

One of Kraft's ads featured a giant block of cheese engraved with

the words " Burn More Fat, " and another featured an hourglass-shaped

package of cheese. The company is updating language on its Web site

related to dairy consumption and weight. The dairy industry's

campaign has come under increased scrutiny from other health

advocates and researchers.

 

PCRM's lawsuit maintains that scientific evidence contradicts the

dairy industry's weight-loss claims. The only studies that support

the claims were conducted by Michael Zemel, Ph.D., an industry-

funded researcher at the University of Tennessee. Since 1998, Zemel

has accepted nearly $1.7 million in research grants from the

National Dairy Council. He has also patented his weight-loss

program; consequently, advertisers pay Zemel to use his so-

called " calcium key " weight-loss program.

 

Other researchers have not been able to confirm Zemel's findings.

They have found that dairy products either have no effect on weight

or cause weight gain.

 

For an interview with a PCRM attorney or nutrition expert, please

contact Ms. Simon Chaitowitz at 202-686-2210, ext. 309, or

simonc.

 

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive

medicine, especially good nutrition. PCRM also conducts clinical

research studies, opposes unethical human experimentation, and

promotes alternatives to animal research.