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First Psychedelic Ketchup, Now Its "Funky Fries"

Written by Guest contributor
Beginning in May, H.J. Heinz Co., Pittsburgh will ship a new line of Ore-Ida frozen potato products called "Funky Fries." Five new shapes, colors and flavors, intended to give kids even more say over their parents' grocery store lists, will be featured, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

New flavors include sour cream and chives, cinnamon-and-sugar "Cinna-Stiks," "Crunchy Rings," "Kool Blue," a sky blue, seasoned french fry, and "Cocoa Crispers," designed "for kids with a sweet tooth."

Moderator Comment: Food marketers are targeting the sweet tooth of today's young consumer with great success. Are they fully capitalizing on the opportunity offered by the market for healthy foods for children at the same time?

Talk about your timing. Just a couple of days ago there was a 60 Minutes report about the sad physical shape that American children are in. A number of nutritionists interviewed for the program placed the blame for increases in obesity and type 2 diabetes squarely on fast foods in the typical kid's diet. Seems to us that they could have easily put the blame on anyone of the various electronic games that keep kids firmly anchored to living room chairs for hours on end. Better yet, they could have spoken to the issue of parental responsibility, which is where the issue of a child's health really belongs. [George Anderson - Moderator]

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