When is a risk not a risk? If you’ve bought anything lately, it likely had a "free-from" label on it. At the grocery store, the consumer product marketers want you to know that you aren't getting (horrors) "genetically modified organisms" with your favorite canned soup, frozen food, or breakfast cereals. If you’ve sourced drinkware in the last couple of years in our industry, you’re “BPA-Free” for sure.
An article this week in the Project Syndicate has an interesting take on the "risk of mislabeled risk." In what would appear as a case of negative options, the suggestion is that consumers are connecting what they are "free from" as being dangerous, when exactly the opposite may be the case, and even worse, the manufacturers are actually in a rush to both substitute inferior ingredients and raise prices.
Speaking of the GMO issue, and of cereals specifically, consider Post Grape Nuts and General Foods' Cheerios. As long as a year ago, the two breakfast behemoths announced to a supposedly anxious public that they were removing GMO ingredients like those from corn, soybeans, and sugar beets. The GMO threat to the start of your morning was eliminated, just like that. But, at the same time, Grape Nuts also got busy and removed Vitamins A, D, B-12, and B-2 (known as Riboflavin). Riboflavin also disappeared from Cheerios. Dr. Wayne Parrott, a professor of crop science at the University of Georgia, says that the cereals are now actually less healthy than before, given the decreased vitamin content. "Cheerios went from being a major source of Vitamin B2 to being almost zip" the professor told Food Navigator. How about you, did you make the connection – GMOs are bad, so removing them makes the product automatically better?
Now that our industry is BPA-Free, are we really better off there, too? BPA (Bisphenol A) has been used for years to help shape plastic, and line the interior of food cans to prevent the growth of bacteria. A recent academic study published by Taylor and Francis Online suggests that substituting for BPA may actually be a part of the psychology of "regrettable substitutions." Since studies have raised consumer awareness about the safety of BPA, the reality is that it may well be replaced by something even more dangerous. Years of study and assessment have not proven BPA to be unsafe. One such study earlier this year by the European Food Safety Authority even says that BPA poses no threat whatsoever to consumers of any age given current exposure levels. So, who is really stirring the consumer awareness pot? It does seem that the news media keeps BPA risks front and center. Just this week, the Science Codex is reporting the adverse effects BPA has on parenting in mice. I'll just let you read that one and judge for yourself.
Two weeks ago, we wrote in this space about using your promotional products powers for good. It seems that Taylor Swift has done just that, even if inadvertently. Three teens were involved in a car crash while returning home following one of Swift's concerts in Baton Rouge. Two of the girls' cell phones’ batteries had died, and the third phone couldn't be found to call for help.
Trapped in the car and desperate to signal to passing motorists, the girls turned on the light-up bracelets designed to flash along with the songs from the concert that had been part of the swag given to them as they entered the concert earlier that evening. Sure enough, a motorist spotted the flashing bracelets, realized it was a call for help, and stopped to pull the girls out of their car. Taylor Swift and her promotional products to the rescue!
So, eating products with less GMOs and drinking from BPA-Free cups may not necessarily be better for you, but attending a Taylor Swift concert could save your life. Are you with me on this?
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for more than 30 years. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He is the executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the industry’s only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant products. When he's not working, you can find him traveling the world with his lovely wife, working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, or sometimes even enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Follow Jeff on Twitter, or reach out to him at jeff@qcalliance.org.