ConAgra Foods Joins USDA for Unveiling of MyPyramid Corporate Challenge
ConAgra Foods, Inc., participated as a charter member in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) formal unveiling of Partnering with MyPyramid: Corporate Challenge. In February, ConAgra Foods became the first company to sign a memorandum of intent with the USDA, affirming its support for promoting the MyPyramid guidelines on its packaging and through other tools.
“ConAgra Foods is excited to be a leader in the USDA’s Corporate Challenge,” said Jim Astwood, ConAgra’s v.p./nutrition, scientific and regulatory affairs. “This package enhancement provides clear food group information to help consumers follow MyPyramid’s guidelines.”
In addition to its product labels, ConAgra Foods also will promote MyPyramid in its advertising and marketing, through grants for nutrition education, and by investing in reformulations that could improve the nutritional profile of our products, Astwood added.
New product labels spotlighting MyPyramid food group information will appear on more than 700 ConAgra Foods products nationwide starting this summer. The company is using its MyPyramid graphic on all products that provide consumers with a meaningful amount of at least one of the key food groups.
Specifically, a product must have one or more of the following to use this label:
· ½ ounce equivalent of grains, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount;
· ¼ cup of vegetables, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount;
· ¼ cup of fruit, which is 15 percent of the recommended daily amount;
· ¼ cup of dairy, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount; or
· ½ ounce of meat and beans, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount.
“ConAgra Foods is excited to be a leader in the USDA’s Corporate Challenge,” said Jim Astwood, ConAgra’s v.p./nutrition, scientific and regulatory affairs. “This package enhancement provides clear food group information to help consumers follow MyPyramid’s guidelines.”
In addition to its product labels, ConAgra Foods also will promote MyPyramid in its advertising and marketing, through grants for nutrition education, and by investing in reformulations that could improve the nutritional profile of our products, Astwood added.
New product labels spotlighting MyPyramid food group information will appear on more than 700 ConAgra Foods products nationwide starting this summer. The company is using its MyPyramid graphic on all products that provide consumers with a meaningful amount of at least one of the key food groups.
Specifically, a product must have one or more of the following to use this label:
· ½ ounce equivalent of grains, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount;
· ¼ cup of vegetables, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount;
· ¼ cup of fruit, which is 15 percent of the recommended daily amount;
· ¼ cup of dairy, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount; or
· ½ ounce of meat and beans, which is 10 percent of the recommended daily amount.