So, why am I reminded of New Coke?
Tammy just forwarded me a link to the planned changes for Oreo cookies. The short version is they're aiming to dump the trans fat, so they've reformulated the cream in the middle. The new, healthier version is set to debut at the end of the year.
Honestly, while I suspect they'll come out with a diet variety in the long run, the announcement sounds to me as if they're just looking to boost sales on the standard variety, and, as happened with New Coke in the 1908s, they're hoping to get consumers fearful and angry over losing a 93-year classic. Now, the shelf life of a sealed pack of Oreos probably isn't as long as that of Coke, but I can't help but suspect that this announcement is intended to cause some fringe-level consumers to hoard Oreos much as some Coke drinkers did in 1985 when thought they were facing the end of an old favorite. IMHO the fans didn't go far enough, as we never did get back the original Coke formula. Into the first year of the second Bush administration, we need that hit of cocaine more than ever.
I can't easily recall the last time I ate an Oreo, but if I did it was a DoubleStuf variety because I really don't like the almost chocolatey, black cookie part much. As tiny bits scattered through a mass of vanilla ice cream is where they work best for me.
In the end I have to ask: Are people really eating so many Oreos regularly that the trans fats in the "cream" a health problem? I guess it's mostly just part of the sale - this is giving them the benefit of the doubt I wasn't giving them up top - inasmuch that they would love to have America's moms feeling Oreos were now a "safe" food to let their little porkers munch down by the package.
Okay, checking in at Oreo Central, with the folks at Nabisco, I see that they have a Sensible Snacking variety of products, and included in the mix are Oreo Thin Chips. Looking a little deeper I see that there's a January 1, 2006 deadline imposed by the FDA, so as of the start of next year they'll be required to list the grams of trans fat on each of their products. While they talk about trans fats on their site they're not very forthcoming with any specific information about how this relates to their own products. I suspect the labels they'd be required to print for the existing Oreo formulation would be frightening to some, including those in their Marketing and perhaps Legal departments.
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