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One Critic’s Take On The “Multigrain” Scam

Screen shot 2010-07-12 at 2.39.53 PM.pngFreelance journalist and author Suzanne Schlosberg wrote because she was so upset over a New York Times story, “The Chip That Stacks Adds a Multigrain Twist,” that she wanted us to review it. I thought anyone who feels so strongly about something should review it herself. So she did. Here is Suzanne’s guest post:

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I was flabbergasted when I read this New York Times piece on Procter & Gamble’s new entry into the potato-chip market: multigrain Pringles. The story accepts at face value P&G’s misleading marketing pitch — that “multigrain” is equivalent to “healthy.” When I sent a link to my nutritionist friend Cynthia Sass., M.S., R.D., she replied: “Did you notice it says ‘advertising’ in the top left corner? It must be a paid ad that resembles an article.”

Actually, it’s not. It’s a business story that ran in the “Media & Advertising” section. Though the story didn’t appear on the health pages, it should have made clear that “multigrain” simply means that more than one grain is included in the product — not that the product is necessarily nutritious. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*

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