Kraft to use South Beach trademark

Illinois-based Kraft, the largest North American food maker, said it will use the trademark on foods that can eaten by people following the South Beach Diet program and that it will help fund nutritional research at the Agatston Research Institute.

"We will use the South Beach Diet trademark on certain Kraft products to identify some food choices that fit within the doctor's recommendations,"​said Lance Friedmann, senior vice president of Global Health & Wellness, citing figures revealing that "64 percent of US adults were considered overweight and 46 percent were on some form of diet last year".​

The South Beach Diet, not to the less-discerning-eye that different from the better known Atkins Diet, places an emphasis on lean sources of protein, fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and advocates giving up processed foods such as white bread and products containing saturated and trans fats.

Dr Agatston's book, The South Beach Diet​, by which the regime was introduced to the nation, has been a New York Times bestseller for more than 53 weeks.

Kraft Foods announced earlier this month that it had abandoned its plan to reduce the portion sizes of some of its snacks, citing consumer research that shows shoppers prefer to have the choice of whether to go with smaller packages.

Last July the company announced it had decided to change some product recipes, reduce portions in some single-serve packages, stop marketing snacks via giveaways at school and encourage healthier lifestyles in the face of growing consumer health concerns and the risk of obesity lawsuits against food companies.