Nutrition by Numbers

"The more you know about green beans, the better for Del Monte," runs the commercial of one of the nation's largest canning companies. Now Del Monte will tell U.S. consumers a good deal more than simply how it picks its beans and minds its peas and cucumbers. The company has become the first commercial canner to adopt the Food and Drug Administration's proposed voluntary guidelines for listing on a can's label the nutritional value of its contents. Beginning next summer, Del Monte's 34 bestselling products will be labeled with, among other things, a calorie count and a profile of vitamins and minerals, from A to riboflavin.

Nutrition labeling can turn into a numbers game. Food manufacturers pump some cereals and even cupcakes full of vitamins, without mentioning that they still contain as much as 45% sugar. But Del Monte's new labels will be helpful to shoppers wishing to plan balanced meals. Those who consume mainly starchy vegetables like peas and beets, for example, can substitute more spinach and asparagus after a little common sense comparison of carbohydrate counts. Says Dr. Michael F. Jacobson, author of Eater's Digest: "It will require some maturity on the part of consumers to accept the fact that every food should not have to contain every vitamin and mineral." Del Monte Group Vice President James Schmuck agrees, saying that "the most important piece of information on the label may be: 'For good nutrition, eat a variety of foods.' " Schmuck adds that Del Monte's decision to use the new labels was based on solid market research indicating that customers want nutritional information.

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