If, like me, you're a fan of nabisco's premium unsalted tops, you probably looked at the new box that you saw on shelf with skepticism.
The trained eye will notice that the box doesn't say "new shape: same great taste" but rather it says "new shape: great premium taste". This means that the taste is different! >:O
WHY?!?!?!? Why would anyone do such a thing? Whatever happened to "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"?
Well after trying them, I must say that the taste certainly IS different - not better, not worse...just different. I must note that the taste is still GREAT! Before the change, there were few things that i enjoyed more than natural peanut butter on a premium and post change the same can still be said :o) (although, i have also grown an affection for natural pb on shredded wheat - don't knock it til you try it)
Another thing i noticed is the updated nutrition facts panel. Whereas one serving of the old crackers was 5 crackers @ 70 calories, this new box is 6 (A WHOLE EXTRA CRACKER!!) at 60 calories (!!!). So far so good.
But here's the biggest benefit - there is no longer any partially hydrogenated oil!! I did a double take and then a triple take and it still wasn't there. All of my phone calls and letter writing was NOT for naught! Granted, it took 3 years since i wrote my first of several letters (and my my first of several phone calls) to kraft (nabisco's parent company) for there to be a change, :o) but i'll take what i can get!
see? no partially hydrogenated anything :o)
I never gave the old formula much thought until i saw a news story a few years back on NBC's the today show where a nutritionist labeled my premium unsalted tops as a "not that" (as opposed to an "eat this") food because of the trans fat in each serving (because there were fewer than 0.5g, they didn't have to put it on the old panel, but they still had to list the partially hydrogenated oil used in the mixture on the ingredients list. When i saw the story, i felt betrayed. I felt especially betrayed since i had been eating the crackers for SO LONG! Why include an ingredient that my body cannot break down?
My final assessment is that people should buy this cracker and eat it to their heart's content. Businesses don't make decisions like this unless there is revenue support to back it up. Purchasing these crackers (and stocking up on them too) will only benefit you because it tells a huge player in the multi-billion dollar food industry that you like healthy options and it also tells your arteries that you like them with a little less placque :o)
buy these crackers!*
also! kraft!! if you're listening, i'd still really like to see some whole grain crackers with unsalted tops. Trader joe's has a corner on the good tasting/reasonably priced whole grain cracker market right now #srsly
*Nabisco did not pay me to write this, but if they would like to, I will take payment in crackers, cash and check form (let's keep it real, i like to eat crackers...but i gotta eat too, you know?)
