McCain chip that gets ‘green light’
McCain has developed an oven chip which it says is the fist product of its type that scores “green” under the Food Standard Agency’s (FSA) traffic-light labelling system.
Rustic Oven Chips are cut thicker than standard products and retain their skins, meaning less oil is absorbed by each chip during cooking. The skins are also said to give the chips a more homemade flavour.
The development also means the potato product is likely to bypass the restrictions on “junk food” advertising to children on television set down by media regulator Ofcom earlier this month. Ofcom decided on a total ban on advertising of all food and drink products high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) in and around all programmes that appeal to children under 16.
It is using the FSA’s traffic light system – labelled by detractors as “scientifically flawed” – as a benchmark to identify such foods. The new restrictions on advertising are planned to take effect at the end of January 2007 and new campaigns commissioned after that will have to comply with the new rules.
The company says Rustic was developed in response to consumer demand for healthier products. In September it launched its “It’s All Good” campaign, which aims to demonstrate the health credentials of its products.
