Newsletter – November 2014

Contents
North Central Chapter Networking Happy Hour
AMWA Fall Board of Directors Meeting Summary
Book Club Notes: Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss

JOIN US! AMWA North Central Networking Happy Hour

Join us for this informal discussion (about any professional or career-related topic you’d like to talk through, debate, get input on…) and networking event. All members are welcome, including independent consultants, freelancers/contractors, and employees. Light appetizers are on us!

When: Thursday, December 4, 5:00 to 7:00 Where: McCoys Public House, St. Louis Park

You’re also encouraged to invite non-member colleagues who may be interested in learning more about our North Central AMWA chapter.

RSVP to Jenny Michlitsch at membership@amwanorthcentral.org.

 

AMWA Fall Board of Directors Meeting Summary

October 8, 2014

Report from the North Central Chapter Delegate, Nissa Mollema

The fall Board of Directors meeting convened on October 8th at the Sheraton in Memphis, Tennessee. Delegates from each chapter were represented during this meeting, and critical progress was made.

Updates on Spring Initiatives:

  • AMWA has launched the new webinar series and has begun offering two webinars per month. Members receive a discount on all webinars.
  • The online learning platform is still under development but is expected to launch in 2015.

Critical Decisions and Discussions:

  • 2017 Annual Meeting Date: Delegates voted to move the date of the 2017 annual meeting to better accommodate members’ holiday schedules. This meeting will be at the Swan and Dolphin Hotel in Florida.
  • Retired Members options: There was a long discussion about updating the membership selection to include an option for retired members to continue with their membership at a lower rate. The discussion was tabled to allow for additional consideration about the wording of this change. There was also discussion about creating an associate-level membership choice for members who are working outside the area of medical communication but wish to remain a part of the association.
  • Book Awards: It was announced that AMWA would no longer offer the “Book Awards.” This decision was based on waning interest in the awards and cost-benefits not being in AMWA’s favor.
    • Note: Members of our North Central chapter have emailed AMWA to express dissatisfaction about eliminating the awards without discussion and input from the chapter. If you have a strong opinion on the book awards, please contact AMWA or your chapter leadership.
  • Certification Program development: AMWA is moving forward, and it is expected that the certification exam will become available in 2015. More information will become available in the coming months.
  • Chapter Committee Leadership: Hillary Graham has taken the helm as the new chair of the Chapter Relations Committee. Dr. Graham has an interest in helping chapters develop additional tools to improve website communication and webinar programming.

Do you have an issue or idea that you would like to discuss with your local chapter or AMWA? Please contact Nissa.

 

Book Club Notes: Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss

By Paul W. Mamula, PhD

The book club met on September 29, 2014 to discuss Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us by Michael Moss. The book employs interviews, food scientist and executive accounts, research findings, and marketing information to illustrate how those three ingredients drive the soda and convenience food industry, and in turn, consumer habits.

Our meeting had a larger than usual turnout, five, including a prospective new member. Attendees found it amusing that we met at a local Mexican restaurant, a venue that serves some dishes that contain high levels of salt, fat, and sugar. All of us liked the book, and thankfully, our lively discussion in the middle of a full dining area didn’t prompt any odd looks from patrons nearby.

Moss effectively melds the processes that drive the food industry with the science of the title’s three components. Salt, Sugar, Fat contains a prologue, three main sections, and an epilogue. The sections address the main ingredients’ roles in convenience foods. Sugar is the first and longest section with salt the last and shortest. The epilogue is a fitting summary of current industry status and convenience food.

The book targets the general reader but the skillful interweaving of the food science of the ingredients with industry workings is absolutely riveting. A few textual footnotes help explain technical points and statistics, but they don’t interfere with the reading. The New York Times Sunday Magazine published an adapted portion of the book in 2013.1

Loads of Sugar – The details about sugar provided a grand view of soda product development and marketing. Sugar levels in soda are determined by finding the “bliss point,” the level judged by tasters as sufficiently sweet. Concentrations exceeding that level will be too sweet. Determining the bliss point for soda, as well as for fat and salt in convenience food, guides product development. Sugar, salt, and fat are large components in convenience foods and their effective use has greatly influenced products and consumer diet. Until recently, aggressive marketing stimulated greater soda consumption; however, concerns about the health effects of excessive sugar consumption may produce the recent leveling off of sales.

Lots of Fat – Unlike sugar, fat consumption produces no perceivable satiety. We can consume high levels of fat because it melts away and leaves a pleasant slick feeling (“fat feel”) in the mouth without any perceived fullness. Cheese, a major source of fat, has evolved from a food to an ingredient in many products and presents a concern for weight gain. Potato chips, corn chips, and other snack products rely on fat and salt to provide the texture (crunch) and taste characteristics that make them so appealing–and fattening. One former Kraft senior vice president admitted that he often ate a whole large package of chips with his after-work martinis.

Moss discusses the conflicting goals that represent a major problem for reducing fat levels. Meat and cheese represent the major sources of fat, yet the US Department of Agriculture promotes eating more cheese and meat, while major health care organizations encourage eating less. Manufacturers have tried to reduce fat levels in response to criticism, but such efforts require substituting ingredients, a process not always successful.

Companies continue to develop and market items that contain high levels of fat, sugar, and salt. The discussion of Kraft’s prepackaged Lunchables product line is a prominent example. Marketed for children, it consisted of precut slices of cheese, lunchmeat, crackers, and a dessert. Initially, Lunchables was deemed unhealthy by critics because of its high levels of salt, sugar, and fat as well as being costly compared with a homemade meal. Geoffrey Bible, the former CEO of Philip Morris (the company that owns Kraft) said that one article critical of it said something like, “If you take Lunchables apart, the most healthy item in it is the napkin.”

Handfuls of Salt – The chapter on salt focuses on its role in processed and snack foods. Moss discusses the problems faced by manufacturers seeking to lower their products’ salt concentration. Current consumption is more than twice the level required, with excessive consumption linked to developing hypertension, a major health concern.

While salt levels in convenience foods can be reduced by about a third without being noticed, further reductions become problematic, producing “a warmed-over flavor” in soups and a mushy, gummy texture in crackers. A larger problem for reducing levels is the proliferation of other sodium-containing compounds in breads, cakes, and cookies. High levels of sodium in these products are seldom noticed without looking at product labels. While the high levels present problems, they have remained largely unsolved.

Evolving Product Strategies and Consumer Caveats – Moss’s discussions with selected major industry executives illustrate their changing views. Many researchers became disillusioned or remorseful. Robert I-San Lin, an industry food scientist, left Frito-Lay after becoming dissatisfied with company methods and products. He now eats few, if any processed foods and avoids the very foods he helped develop. Many other executives tell of being proud of their products, yet have now opted for more healthy lifestyles, replete with avoiding their products, eating healthier foods, and adding regular exercise.

Salt Sugar Fat provides some insights into convenience foods and their drawbacks; however, the size of these industries means that we will probably continue to wrestle with their products and the high salt, sugar, and fat levels. One attendee noted, ”We consumers are at a significant disadvantage. We want convenience and some assurance that what we’re eating won’t kill us, at least not immediately. We’ve been naive and have not asked the critical questions about processed food and their long-term effects.”

All attendees found the book a worthwhile read, and we traded methods for dealing with convenience food and soda. The book’s last sentences provide a fitting strategy:

“They may have salt, sugar and fat on their side, but we, ultimately, have the power to make choices. We decide what to buy. We decide how much to eat.”

References

  1. Moss M. The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food. New York Times Magazine, February 20, 2013.