The Associated Press is reporting that 16 of the nation's biggest food and beverage companies managed to beat their own goal set in May 2010 when they pledged to cut one trillion calories from the U.S. marketplace by 2012. A new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that they far exceeded that total and sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories as of 2012.
The companies that participated in the pledge to cut calories include Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, Bumble Bee Foods, Campbell Soup Co, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Hillshire Brands, Kellogg Co, Mars, McCormick & Company, Nestlé USA, Post Foods, the Hershey Company, J.M. Smucker and Unilever.
"The 16 companies sold 60.4 trillion calories in 2007, which was 36 percent of total calories in packaged foods and beverages -- cereals, chips, canned soup, juices, sodas, candy and more -- sold that year," the AP reports.
By 2012, they reduced that number to 54 trillion calories, which amounts to 6.4 trillion less calories.
Companies accomplished their goals by substituting lower-calorie products, cutting calories out of existing products and reducing portion sizes such as Keebler's 100-calorie cookie packs. Beverage companies are also producing their sugared drinks with some artificial sweeteners in order to cut the sugar content without compromising the taste.
"Reports like this, and the fact that they exceeded their commitment by four-fold, really shows that you can make progress in giving American families more healthy options," said Larry Soler, president of the Partnership for a Healthier America, a non-profit chaired by first lady Michelle Obama to fight obesity.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35.7 percent of U.S. adults are obese along with 14.9 percent of children.
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