Mars Inc., the candy giant that makes M&Ms, Snickers and Twix, said Friday that it supports government recommendations to limit sugar intake and hopes to further address the “health and nutritional challenges facing our society.”
Mars said it supports a federal proposal to include “added sugars” to nutrition labels on packaged foods, CNN reported.
In a letter submitted to the heads of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Agriculture Thursday, the candy maker said it also backs calls by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee that people should limit added sugar to 10 percent of daily calories.
“Supporting global public health efforts to limit society’s consumption of added sugars and labeling our products transparently are steps in the right direction for us and will benefit everyone who enjoys Mars products,” the company said in a statement.
“It might appear to be counterintuitive, but if you dig down a bit more, we know candy itself is not a diet,” said Dave Crean, global head of research and development at Mars, the Wall Street Journal reported. “It shouldn’t be consumed too often, and having transparency of how much it should be consumed is actually quite helpful to consumers.”
“We want people to enjoy Mars brands as part of a well-balanced diet,” he said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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