Kraft To Go It Alone With "Real Kraft Cheese"

By Laura Oppenheimer in Food on Feb 5, 2007 5:45PM

It hasn't been a great few days for Northfield-based Kraft Foods, Inc. First, Altria announced it was spinning-off Kraft into its own company; the spin-off will "enhance Kraft's ability to make acquisitions, including by using Kraft stock as acquisition currency, to compete more effectively in the food industry," according to Altria's release. It will also free up Altria to focus more on its tobacco holdings, including Philip Morris. Survey says challenges are ahead for the food giant. The spin-off it set for March 30.

If that isn't enough, Kraft got reamed in today's Crain's Chicago over its use of the phrase "Made with Real Kraft Cheese." The Real Kraft Cheese logo shows up on a slew of Kraft products, not all of which have a whole lot of actual cheese in them. And it isn't just about semantics — in the past three months, Kraft has been sued twice over mislabeling its products, including their "guacamole" dip.

We think looking at the cheese content of Kraft products is actually a pretty interesting exercise in understanding consumer marketing. For example, Easy Cheese, Oscar Mayer Cheesiest Cheese Dogs and Cheez Whiz dip — all of which are marketed with the Real Kraft Cheese logo — have no real cheese in their ingredient list. Part of the problem in labeling products is that the FDA doesn't have standards that must be adhered to when it comes to words like "all-natural" and "real," while other words like "organic" or "low-fat" are regulated. So, as long as the labeling is "in a manner that is truthful and not misleading," Kraft can do as it pleases.

Image via Able2Know.