• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, May 8, 2015

Mars Inc. is getting out ahead of the growing movement to try to reduce Americans' sugar consumption.

The maker of many of the world's best-selling candy brands, including M&M's and Snickers, sent a letter to government officials supporting several key points in an advisory committee report on updating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) — including recommendations that consumers reduce added sugars consumption to 10% or less of their daily calories, and that a breakout of added sugars be added to the Nutrition Facts panel on foods and beverages.

In a public statement about its stances, after confirming its support of the 10% guideline, privately owned Mars wrote: "One of the most important ways we can help is by giving consumers clear information about what’s in the products we manufacture so they can make informed dietary choices. To make it easier for people to track the amount of added sugars in their diets, Mars is declaring its full support for a U.S. Government proposal to include an added-sugars declaration in the Nutrition Facts panel on packaging."

The DGA committee's added-sugars labeling recommendation supports a proposal included in the Food and Drug Administration's still-pending proposed rules on food labeling, released back in March 2014.

Industry food and beverage associations have strongly opposed an added-sugars label callout -- arguing, among other points, that such labeling could be misleading, because the human body doesn't differentiate between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars.

Proponents of the labeling maintain that food makers simply fear that revealing the levels of added sugar will surprise and deter consumers from buying many CPG products. Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), told The Wall Street Journal that products such as pasta sauces, breads and regular yogurts could be more negatively affected by such labeling than desserts or confections that consumers understand are high in sugar. 

Mars' public stances on added sugars would seem likely to burnish its corporate perception among increasingly health-concerned consumers. The company is publicizing those stances, including by posting a link to its statement on its social media channels. 

"It's refreshing to see a company like Mars showing principled leadership on this question of added sugar labeling, and we hope other companies will follow its lead," said CSPI health promotion policy director Jim O'Hara, in a statement. He added that Mars "was also an important, if somewhat unlikely, ally in the fight to get junk food out of schools." 

In its letter about the DGA recommendations, Mars also expressed viewpoints that clearly support the interests of some of its other brands, such as Uncle Ben's and the Orbit sugar-free gum line.

Mars took the opportunity to express support of the recommended intake levels for whole grains, and the committee's "recognition that enriched grains like white rice can provide a meaningful contribution to the diet."

The company also "urged" officials in the U.S. Health and Human Services and Agriculture Departments to add a recommendation to the final policy document that Americans chew sugar-free gum after meals, citing numerous research studies that have concluded that doing so helps prevent dental cavities and enhances oral health.  

The public comment period for the committee's recommendations ends tonight. 

The Hershey and Nestlé companies declined to comment to WSJ on whether they support the 10% added-sugars intake limit and added sugars labeling callout recommendations.