Consumers are turning to foods they shunned a few years ago, says the New York Times: “Under the new thinking, not all fat is bad and neither are all salty foods. A stigma among the public remains for sugar substitutes but less so for cane sugar, at least in moderation. And all of those things are weighed against qualities like simplicity and taste.” Rather than worry about salt, fat and sugar, says Nestle executive Robert Kilmer, “Healthy now is about what’s in my food and where did it come from.”
Adds the Times, “And don’t forget about taste. A majority of Americans say they value taste more than how healthy a food is.” The change in demand is frustrating to food companies, which spent years rewriting recipes to use less salt, fat and sugar, as well as for nutritionists and food-advocacy groups. Margo Wootan, of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says advice in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans about limiting calories from fat “have sort of gotten lost” in the re-evaluation of “good” and “bad” fat.