It is possible to regard Flamin' Hot Cheetos as spicy, tasty, crunchy or anything but healthy. Whenever you think of Cheetos, healthy is not the first thing that comes in your mind. But maybe now it will be. Under revised federal nutrition guidelines for school children, Cheetos has qualified as a "Smart Snack".
Cheetos are the favorite of schools kids even though it is one of the causes for America's obesity-plagued children. But with the new formula devised by Frito-Lay, Cheetos now meet the guidelines of federal "Smart Snack" for school children.
When the new guidelines by the Obama Administration to reduce the consumption of junk food by school kids were rolled out, almost half of all states opposed the standards claiming them to be too strict. Some legislators even stated that the new guidelines will make it difficult for schools to make revenue through snacks sales.
With everyone perplexed with the new guidelines, Cheetos was busy accepting the challenge. The present version of Cheetos sold in schools has less amount of fat, salt and contains increased amount of whole grains and also meets the federal nutrition regulations rolled out by the Obama Administration, as compared with the previous version of Cheetos.
Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor in New York University to the public radio outlet "The food industry can do anything to meet [new nutrition] standards, and this is a perfect example of that. So this is a 'better-for-you' junk food and, of course, the question is, is that a good choice? And no, of course, it's not."
NPR produced a report investigating the way Cheetos became a "Smart Snack". The report claims that companies have just changed a few ingredients in order to fulfil the guidelines but the addictive nature of this junk food remains the same. It also stated that schools in Chicago earn up to 20% commission on total sales of Cheetos.
