Recent data supporting genuine concern about heart health are well-documented in the 2011 update of the Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics published by the American Heart Association (AHA), in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other government agencies. There was also three recent publications of note in the Lancet on cholesterol, blood pressure, and obesity.

Its clear more work still needs to be done but we also want to share the good news! For example, over the most recent decade for which complete data are available (1997 – 2007), the annual death rate due to heart attacks declined 26.3%, and the actual number of deaths declined 12.9%.  In fact, death rates from heart attacks have fallen dramatically from their peak in 1963 (when the American Heart Month observance was established) to the level today. To put this in perspective, for every 100,000 Americans, there were 429 deaths from heart attack in 1963 compared to 126 deaths in 2007.

We know that about half of these dramatic declines are attributable to improvements in treatments such as heart bypass surgery, angioplasty, stents, and the use of safe and powerful drugs after heart attack, chest pain, and heart failure. The major concern is that the skyrocketing trend in the cost of care for heart disease is unlikely to be sustainable much longer. The cost of care for heart disease will triple from $273 billion to $818 billion by 2030, according to a recent report by the AHA.

Now, here is the really good news. We also know that the other half of the dramatic declines in heart attack deaths can be attributed to lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol, lower burden of cigarette smoking, and increased physical activity – all of which contributed about 44% to the dramatic decline in heart attack deaths from 1980 – 2000. The good news is that the impressive reductions in mean blood pressure and cholesterol have continued, not just in the U.S. but in many regions of the world as shown in the recent publications in the Lancet on cholesterol and blood pressure. In fact, had we been able to also decrease the burden of obesity and diabetes, there would have been an additional 18% decrease in number of heart attack deaths in the U.S. based on the data for 1980-2000. Clearly, the continuing burden of obesity and diabetes remains the major cause for concern.

At PepsiCo, we firmly believe that our major human sustainability commitments to reduce salt, added sugar and saturated fat; and increase the amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and low-fat dairy in our global portfolio provide consumers more options to positively impact major risk factors and to achieve further reductions in heart attack and heart disease risk. In addition to optimizing basic nutrition, we have the opportunity to explore specific functional nutrients which may contribute to further reductions in heart disease risk factors.

The strong commitments we have made in the marketplace and community may also contribute to consumers’ understanding of what it takes to prevent and control obesity, diabetes, and the other risk factors for heart disease. These commitments include our front-of-package calorie labeling; restrictions in advertising to children under age 12; further restrictions in the direct sale of full-sugar soft drinks in primary and secondary schools; increasing the availability of foods and beverages that offer solutions for managing calories; and expanding both PepsiCo Corporate and PepsiCo Foundation initiatives to promote healthier communities, including enhancing diet and physical activity programs.

As we observe another American Heart Month, we reaffirm our support for programs such as the First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative, and the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation both of which are committed to reducing obesity – especially childhood obesity. We also express our thanks to the many researchers, health professionals, and heart health visionaries whose efforts have led to the dramatic declines in heart disease death rates we see in Americans today. We look forward to continued engagement with you and especially to your input and guidance as to how best we contribute to continuing progress in improving heart health in the U.S. and abroad.

My colleagues George Mensah, Greg Yep and I recorded some of our thoughts on a flip cam while we were in San Diego. Have a look and let us know what you think.

It is no secret that we are making efforts to triple our business in our “good-for-you” (GFY) product portfolio by 2020. Public health is a focus for every one of our stakeholders – consumers, investors, and regulators. With the GNG, we have the opportunity to define a new leadership role in foods and beverages based not only on taste, but on science-based health, wellness and functionality.

Our mission is to establish PepsiCo as the leading provider of GFY food and beverages that are great tasting, wholesome, accessible, affordable and advantaged by science.

The R&D organization will remain with me to complete the transformation that will enable efficient technology transfer across all of PepsiCo’s businesses.

In closing, I would like to state how very proud I am to be working at PepsiCo. When a global company of the size and scale of ours aggressively embraces challenging new market realities – and does so with both performance and purpose in mind – it truly can be world changing.

2010 Inaugural PepsiCo Academy of Science Award Recipients Welcomed at PepsiCo Headquarters

Last week, as part of our inaugural “PepsiCo Academy of Sciences” award celebration, we honored some of the brightest scientific minds across PepsiCo – the cornerstones of our R&D function – who are helping us progress toward these ambitious goals.  These scientists are involved in extraordinary projects – from technological and product breakthroughs to solutions that solve cultural, flavor or textural challenges. Their ingenuity and dedication are bringing better-tasting, more nutritious products and more environmentally friendly packaging to our millions of consumers around the globe.

At the event, which took place at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City, our global R&D team heard from renowned Nobel Laureate James D. Watson. It was particularly inspiring for our scientists to hear the keynote speech at our inaugural event from such a pioneer in science.

In the coming weeks, we’ll tell you more about some of the innovations that we honored — for example, the science behind the Gatorade G-Series Recover Beverage Protein Technology and the work being done by Quaker in China on a cereal that is sourced locally and appeals to local market tastes.

These achievements demonstrate that the journey we have embarked upon is progressing. But we’re really just getting started. As we look ahead, I’m very excited about what the future holds given the incredible talent of the people on our R&D team.

Each year, we sponsor a summer internship program for young scientists in the nutrition field. The program provides students an opportunity to see the important role the food industry can play in meeting global nutrition challenges, and it provides us the opportunity to learn from the intern’s fresh perspectives. As the summer draws to a close, we want to take this opportunity to highlight some of the great work the PepsiCo R&D interns did in nutrition science and food policy.

Our 21 interns all had impressive backgrounds in science and nutrition. They hailed from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy, the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center, the School of Human Ecology at Cornell University, Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of Georgia, the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, just to name a few.

Our PepsiCo 2010 summer interns undertook a variety of projects, including:

• Creating a calorie education program for our New York-based employees that provided valuable information about the importance of conscious calorie intake.
• Conducting a critical evaluation of the science behind the health benefits associated with the consumption of fruits and vegetables.
• Assessing the USDA’s national school meals program in order to explore opportunities for guiding product development.
• Developing an internal quarterly nutrition newsletter for PepsiCo team members.
• Exploring programs to strengthen the nutritional impact of PepsiCo’s contribution to Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger charity.
• Reviewing 3 major reports from the Institute of Medicine and the White House White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity in order to assess the practical implications for the food industry.
• Conducting a scientific literature review on the use of low-calorie sweeteners for aiding weight loss and weight maintenance programs.

We are proud to have interns who have undertaken such significant work as part of our team because they represent the future of the nutrition science and food policy world.

To the scientists out there reading Food Frontiers, we hope you’ll share some of the valuable experiences you had early in your careers that might be helpful for PepsiCo R&D to know as we continue building our internship program.  What are some of the nutrition and health science areas you suggest we explore with our interns next summer? What innovative and successful models for nurturing trainees and young professionals are you familiar with, and how best can we learn from them?  We look forward to hearing from you.  In the interim, please join us in congratulating our PepsiCo R&D summer interns and wishing them the very best in their careers!

A recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 9 out of 10 Americans exceed the limit recommended for daily sodium intake. In fact, for the group of Americans whom a lower dietary intake of sodium is important, the amount of sodium consumed was more than double the recommended limit.

The CDC report also showed that only 9.6% of U.S. adults were below the recommended dietary limit of 2,300 mg per day for sodium; and only 5.5% among the group recommended to limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day achieved that target.  Overall, the average sodium consumption for U.S. adults was 3,466 mg per day, far in excess of the 2,300 mg per day recommended.  In the group of adults recommended to limit sodium intake to less than 1,500 mg per day, the actual intake averaged 3,366 mg per day. Excess dietary intake of sodium is not just an American issue but a genuine global health concern as emphasized by the World Action on Salt and Health and the World Health Organization.

Why is an excess intake of sodium a concern?  The scientific evidence is compelling that excess dietary sodium is associated with major adverse health outcomes, and that reducing this excess can be a cost-effective action that leads to a lower rate of new heart attack and stroke, as well as a lower death rate in all Americans, especially black men and women.

It has been estimated that 77% of dietary sodium intake in the U.S. comes from processed foods while another 11 percent comes from salt added at the table or during cooking. In the CDC report, most of the daily sodium consumed came from grain products such as yeast breads (36.9%) and meats, poultry, fish, and mixtures (27.9%), followed by vegetable products (12.4%).  The USDA has produced a list of the top products that contribute the most to daily sodium intake.

For any large scale sodium reduction strategy to be effective, it must engage all members of the entire food system including ingredient manufacturers, retailers, restaurants and especially the food industry.  PepsiCo has set a global goal and has made a commitment to reduce the average amount of sodium per serving in key global food brands, in key countries, by 25 percent by 2015, with a 2006 baseline. Given the capability we have today and substantial investments planned over the next 5 years, we believe we can achieve this goal.

For PepsiCo to achieve sodium reductions of 50% and greater, significant scientific and technological breakthroughs will be required and engagement of the broader scientific community is crucially needed. However, discussions of dietary sodium reductions today have typically been limited to public health officials, policy makers, health care providers and food industry scientists.  Conversations need to be broadened to include more than just these professionals. ‪

Input of scientists with expertise in taste perception; neurosensory receptor activation and signal transduction mechanisms; molecular and biophysical structure; and physiological properties of sodium salts is required to drive innovation.  We also need to engage scientists with expertise in socio-ecological determinants of lifestyle choices, behavioral economics, and choice architecture who can help nudge the public towards requesting and choosing foods and snacks with a reduced sodium content.‪

In the interim, we at PepsiCo are taking action today to increase the use of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, legumes, and nuts for which scientific evidence of health benefits exist.  In addition to our attention to sodium, we continue to invest in research and development and explore other opportunities (such as reducing added sugars, the saturated fat content, and calorie-density) to expand our product offerings.  We look forward to continuing the conversation on sodium and receiving input that may lead to even greater sodium reduction in foods without compromising taste, quality, and food safety.

References

1. CDC. Sodium Intake Among Adults — United States, 2005−2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; June 25, 2010; 59(24);746-749. URL: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5924a4.htm.
2. World Action on Salt and Health (WASH). Salt & Health. URL: http://www.worldactiononsalt.com/health/salt_health.htm.
3. World Health Organization. Sodium intakes around the world. Background document prepared for the Forum and Technical meeting on Reducing Salt Intake in Populations (Paris 5-7th October 2006). URL: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/Elliot-brown-2007.pdf.
4. Bibbins-Domingo K, et al. Projected Effect of Dietary Salt Reductions on Future Cardiovascular Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine February 18, 2010; 362(7):590-599. URL: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/362/7/590
5. PepsiCo. 2009 Annual Report. Performance with Purpose – The Promise of PepsiCo. URL: http://www.pepsico.com/annual09/human_sustainability.html.
6. USDA.  National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 18; URL: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR18/nutrlist/sr18w307.pdf.
7. Mattes RD, Donnelly D.  Relative contributions of dietary sodium sources. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1991;10(4):383-393.  URL: http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/4/383?ijkey=7496e0ca4e5e9caa2531f3ceebdcad5cb082678c&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
8. USDA. Could Behavioral Economics Help Improve Diet Quality for Nutrition Assistance Program Participants? DR Just, L Mancino, B Wansink (eds); Economic Research Report no. 43, June 2007. URL: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err43/err43.pdf.

Note: The views expressed here represent the personal views of the authors and not necessarily the views of PepsiCo, Inc.

Since the announcement of our participation in ScienceBlogs.com, we’ve heard some very candid feedback from the ScienceBlogs community. As many of you have undoubtedly heard by now, the Food Frontiers blog has been removed from ScienceBlogs. In hearing the community’s feedback, we agree with this decision and feel that the best approach is to take a step back and first examine the role industry scientists, such as myself, can play in the discussion about nutrition science within the larger scientific community.

We knew going in that there would be real differences among scientists within and outside of industry. Our intent is to embrace that conversation, share what we’re doing, and have open discussions to learn from one another as we move toward real solutions. We look forward to engaging in those discussions in communities such as ScienceBlogs as well as here on Food Frontiers.

On a personal note, I joined PepsiCo as its Chief Scientific Officer because the company is committed to making a positive impact on global nutrition. In this role, I am responsible for focusing efforts and attention on nutrition science and solutions.

Since I joined the company, we’ve expanded our global research and development capability. Our network of leaders comes from diverse fields of classic nutrition science, epidemiology, endocrinology, molecular biology, agronomy and sensory science.

As we continue our work, I am enthusiastic about sharing insights while also hearing and learning from the larger scientific community online. That is why I would like to open an invitation to anyone interested in food and nutrition science to join the conversation on Food Frontiers.

We will continue to talk about specific science, nutrition and global health policy topics – and we’ll open the floor to include more voices to help us best address them through science-based solutions.

I speak for all of us when I say; we look forward to productive and substantive dialogue.

These goals are a critical part of our Performance with Purpose mission.  Performance with Purpose is PepsiCo’s promise to deliver sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet. As a global food and beverage company with brands that stand for quality and are respected household names—Quaker Oats, Tropicana, Gatorade, Lay’s and Pepsi-Cola, to name a few—we will continue to build a portfolio of enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages, find innovative ways to reduce the use of energy, water and packaging, and provide a great workplace for our associates. We will also respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate, by hiring local people, creating products designed for local tastes and partnering with local farmers, governments and community groups.

I’m particularly excited about PepsiCo’s global goals in the area of human sustainability – where I think we’re stepping across industry boundaries to address core health and wellness challenges in order to make our products more wholesome and nutritious. Our goals are aggressive and respond directly to changing consumer habits and, what we believe is our inherent responsibility as a global food and beverage company.  Specifically, we’re committing to:

• Increase the amount of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy in our global product portfolio
• Reduce the average amount of sodium per serving in key global food brands, in key countries, by 25 percent by 2015, with a 2006 baseline
• Reduce the average amount of saturated fat per serving in key global food brands, in key countries, by 15 percent by 2020, with a 2006 baseline
• Reduce the average amount of added sugar per serving in key global beverage brands, in key countries, by 25 percent by 2020, with a 2006 baseline

Lifestyles, and in turn, consumption habits, are changing around the globe – particularly in markets like China and India where there is a direct correlation between food consumption and rise in GDP. As we see this trend line in emerging markets, research tells us that consumers across the U.S. and Europe want healthier products that are affordable, and, importantly, taste great. Because we’re committed to responding to market desires – and broader issues like local and international health epidemics—we’re ensuring that core PepsiCo products from brands like Lays, Pepsi, Tropicana and Quaker can be part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle for consumers around the world.

We’ve also committed to displaying calorie count and key nutrients on food and beverage packaging by 2012, and we will be the first company to eliminate the direct sale of full-sugar soft drinks in primary and secondary schools around the globe by 2012.

Our work in this area is firmly grounded in science, agriculture and technology and we’re collaborating with expert organizations like the World Health Organization and the World Heart Federation in order to fulfill these commitments. That’s why I’m as confident as ever that, with these goals guiding our way, we’ll continue to move toward supporting a healthier future for our consumers.

For more information and a full list of PepsiCo’s global goals – including specifics on our new commitments to water access and packaging reductions – you can check out: www.pepsico.com/goalsandcommitments.