CEO DATELINE - Dieticians to pull logo from Kraft Singles
CEO DATELINE - Dieticians to pull logo from Kraft Singles
- March 31, 2015 |
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LORI SHARN BRYANT
Association's House of Delegates will discuss corporate sponsorships in May
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Facing a mutiny by members, and scathing public criticism, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics announced it would end a contract to put its "Kids Eat Right" logo on packages of Kraft Singles.
Board of Directors President Sonja Connor, in a memo to members Monday, also said the "board and Academy leadership are taking immediate steps to avoid a similar situation in the future. We will engage with the Academy House of Delegates and all Academy members on future initiatives to promote healthful foods and nutrition in the most professional, ethical and transparent manner possible."
Academy members have taken to Twitter to #repealtheseal, with some vowing not to renew their membership until the Kraft deal was resolved. A Change.org petition gathered nearly 12,000 signatures. The Academy reports 75,000 members and $35 million in revenue.
The controversy and publicity aren't likely to end immediately, however. The Academy and Kraft are in discussions to terminate the pilot program, which is expected to "take some time to complete." In the meantime, it's too late to stop Kraft Singles from appearing on store shelves April 1 with the Kids Eat Right logo on the packaging. "We are working with Kraft to limit the time it remains on the shelves," Connor said.
Academy leaders say the logo was never meant to be an endorsement of Kraft Singles, which are individually wrapped slices of orange "pasteurized prepared cheese product." Instead, the logo was meant to identify Kraft as a "proud supporter" of the Kids Eat Right initiative and steer consumers to a website with more information about calcium and vitamin D.
But the debate quickly put a spotlight on AND's ties to other corporate partners, including "premier sponsors" PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness.
Earlier in March, the House of Delegates put a discussion of existing sponsorship programs on the May 3 agenda for its virtual spring meeting. But many dieticians said they did not want to wait until May to pull the logo.