DIET TRENDS Food makers respond to low-carb craze

Last year, 633 new foods on U.S. grocery shelves claimed to be low-carb.
By LINDA GIUCA
HARTFORD COURANT
Not too long ago, dietary fat was the enemy. Fat was responsible for obesity, heart disease and high cholesterol counts, and Americans were busily counting fat grams. By the mid-1990s, the number of new foods and beverages whose labels proclaimed "no fat" or "low fat" hit an all-time high.
Fast-forward to the present. Fat is enjoying a reprieve, while another major nutrient -- the carbohydrate -- is the current bad guy. A new generation of dieters, following weight-loss plans such as the Atkins and South Beach diets, are gobbling up animal proteins and high-fat dairy products and sullying their plates with only the most minute portions of starches and sugars.
Just as food manufacturers responded to fat-bashing by banishing fat from dairy products, frozen dinners and snacks, companies focus on the low-carbohydrate -- make that "net carbs" -- bandwagon.
Last year, 633 new foods and drinks introduced in the United States carried claims of low, lower or reduced carbohydrate content, compared with 339 in 2002, according to market research company Productscan Online of Naples, N.Y. In 1999, only 47 low-carbohydrate items were introduced.
Until recently, these foods were available primarily by mail order, online or in specialty stores.
Proliferating
But walk the aisles of the supermarket, and it's difficult to ignore the use of "carbs" on the front of a package. Pick up a supermarket circular, and there are ads for breads, frozen dinners, ice cream, cereal and power bars with reduced carbohydrate content. Foods designed for low-carbohydrate diets are making the transition from a specialty item in the health-food section to shelves throughout the store.
"It's been a natural move on our part," says Stop & amp; Shop spokesman Rick Stockwood of the products' transition from specialty to mainstream items. "As demand has increased, we've been able to add products throughout the store."
Brand-name examples
In the dairy case is Hood's Carb Countdown milk, in whole, 2-percent and fat-free white milk as well as chocolate. Breyer's and Klondike brands introduced Carb Smart ice cream and fudge bars, respectively, last October, and low-carbohydrate ice cream sandwiches are due out next month. To reduce carbohydrates in these products, milk sugars are removed, and Splenda, a sugar substitute, is added as a sweetener.
Some varieties of frozen-dinner staples still highlight fat and calorie content rather than carbs, but upstart brands such as Mike's LifeStyle Gourmet offer high-protein and vegetable dishes with total carbohydrate content displayed on the front of the box. The Atkins label, an entire line of low-carb foods, including breads, isn't the only option in the bakery aisle. Arnold's, Thomas and Country Kitchen brands also have weighed in with their own reduced-carbohydrate versions of bread and bagels.