The news last week that Campbell Soup Company will remove artificial colors and flavors from its product lineup is just the latest indication that big food companies are increasingly paying attention to what consumers want – more healthful foods.
“From boomers to millennials, consumers are seeking fresher, less-processed foods,” said Campbell CEO Denise Morrison, echoing the theme sounded recently by numerous other food companies such as General Mills, Kraft and Nestle,.
Last year EWG launched Food Scores – an easy-to-navigate database that rates more than 85,000 products based on nutrition, ingredients and processing – to help guide both consumers and food companies toward healthier eating and to increase transparency about what’s in our food and how it’s produced. Food Scores is a powerful tool for finding the more wholesome foods that consumers want, and now companies are listening.
EWG applauds Campbell’s for taking this significant step, but the company needs to make improvements on other fronts, such as eliminating BPA in cans of its signature soups and trans fat in its cookies. We were delighted to hear that Ms. Morrison shares our view.
“We can’t stop there,” she told the Wall Street Journal. “We have to keep going.”
EWG looks forward to following Campbell’s progress over the next few years. Our researchers have done extensive research on food additives that Campbell’s and other companies can use to identify specific substances that they would do well to eliminate in order to safeguard the health of their customers.
Meanwhile, consumers can check out EWG’s Food Scores and its companion app to find the kind of healthful products they’re looking for.
