“Healthwashing” Of Problematic Foods: The Girl Scout Cookie Example

A Huffington Post blogger grappling with how to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables takes a look at how the food industry is trying to convince parents that it is helping to solve the problem. Bettina Siegel uses the humble Girl Scout cookie as an example of the predicament. A new variety was recently introduced (“Mango Crèmes with Nutrifusion”). According to the baking company, the ingredient Nutrifusion – a fruit and vegetable powder – makes Mango Crèmes great tasting and vitamin packed. Alas, writes Siegel, Mango Crèmes are still highly processed, white flour cookies containing eight grams of fat and 11 grams of sugar per serving. It’s all part of the broader trend of “healthwashing” processed foods by adding some “nutritious” ingredients to the mix of unhealthy junk, she says.