Famealy Day

Today is Lucky Me's National FaMEALy Day - which is the perfect time to publish this post which has been languishing in my drafts folder for 2 months now.

Sometime in July, N's school invited Mr. Francis Kong to talk about the importance of dining together as a family. 


I loved the idea of the talk and certainly do promote family mealtimes in my own small family.  However, I was just bothered with the sponsor - Lucky Me.  The advocacy is certainly admirable - "It aims to encourage parents to frequently eat dinner with their children and be involved with their lives."
But along with this advocacy comes the twin goal of promoting their products. And if you visit their website, they have this "HAPPY FAMILY MEALS" section filled with recipes  using their products.  Interestingly, the same website includes a section on Truths v. Myths regarding instant noodles, with Myth No. 3 catching my eye.  According to Lucky Me, there is no truth to the statement that "a pack of instant noodles is bad for the health because of its dangerously high sodium content."  They further explain:

For every pack of instant noodles, sodium content averages only between 1,000-1,500 milligrams - only 40-60% of the recommended daily allowance. As per the Department of Health, our allowed sodium intake daily should not exceed 2,400 milligrams.
Instant noodles is not harmful. However, it should be eaten in moderation, not excessively, and should be complemented with a variety of foods to make up a holistic, balanced diet.

Okay - 1 pack of noodles already comprises 40%-60% of the RDA and normally, people don't eat just 1 pack of noodles for their meal.  Lucky Me has commercials promoting noodles for breakfast. So for the rest of the day, you'd have to make do with about 1,000 - 1,400 milligrams of sodium and if you eat pasta with meatballs for lunch (check the sodium content of foods here), you'd have maxed out your sodium intake already - and you haven't even had dinner yet!

You have to admit though, that Lucky Me's FaMEALy Day  campaign is very ingenious.  Similar to how formula companies promote and market and tie up with breastfeeding campaigns, don't you think?

What do you think of Lucky Me's campaign? Ingenious? Devious?