Chocolate as Health Food

Mars Inc., the candy company that makes Snickers bars, M&Ms and Dove chocolates, used to spend $1 million per year subsidizing a newsletter which claimed that eating chocolate could prevent cavities. Now it is funding research that says chocolate is good for your heart. According to PR Week, the company has hired the Weber Shandwick PR firm to help promote its new CocoaVia brand, with the slogan, "Be Good to Your Heart Everyday." The New York Times reports that Mars is even placing its new CocoaVia bars in the health food aisles, near nutrition bars rather than candy, in retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target. Noting that the new chocolate bars are still high in fat and calories, independent nutritionists remain skeptical, "saying that the effort seems less of a breakthrough than a sly way to scare up chocolate sales."

Comments

Dear All,
I am an Italian lawyer interested in food law. I was wondering if somebody would mail me (daniele.pisanello@binpartners.com) some others issues relating to this case or others relating to healthy claim regulation or case studies under US law.

As you know EU healthy claim regulation proposal is still hanging so that new legislative framework, providing narrow limits for marketing topics related to health or well-being, remains blogged down.

Thank you
DP

Wow, that's great news for me. Chocolate is an essential part of my diet. I guess I am gonna eat more chocolate now...