Cereal and convenience foods producer Kellogg Co. said it is undertaking two major initiatives to further meet consumers' health and nutrition needs. The supplier will begin adjusting what and how it markets to children under age 12, and will introduce new front-of-pack nutrition labelling to the North American market that's already been well received in Europe and Australia.

The company will use its new internal standard, the Kellogg Global Nutrient Criteria, to determine which products will be marketed to children on TV, print, radio, and Internet, as well as how those products are marketed, including use of licensed properties, Web site activities directed to children, promotions/premiums, product placement, and in-school marketing. Projects that are already underway, such as the Kellogg tie-in with the film "Shrek" will run as scheduled in order to honour the company's contracts.

"The initiatives we're announcing set a new standard of responsibility and are consistent with our 100-plus year heritage, further strengthening our commitment to helping consumers make informed food choices," said David Mackay, president and CEO of Kellogg.

Kellogg's Nutrient Criteria, which is roughly based on guidelines established by the Institute of Medicine, sets an upper threshold per serving of 200 calories, 2 g of saturated fat, labelled 0 g of trans fat, 230 mg of sodium, and labelled 12 g of sugar. Kellogg said it will apply the Nutrient Criteria to all of its products marketed to children under age 12 around the world. Those products that don't meet the criteria (almost 50% of Kellogg products currently marketed to children worldwide, and 27% of advertisements in the US are directed toward kids under age 12) will either be reformulated to meet the Nutrient Criteria or they will no longer be marketed to children under 12 by the end of 2008.

The Nutrient Criteria will also guide targeted future innovation and product development, the supplier said. Over time, the company will work toward providing consumers even more product choices with enhanced nutritional value, but taste and quality must prevail, Mackay noted.