Low-carb fight swirls around pasta makers

While pasta manufacturers are busy cranking out low-carb versions to satisfy Atkins followers, another group of pasta makers, fueled by health professionals' critical stance on Atkins and other low-carb diets, are trying to fight back.

"In the 1990s, we had low-fat, no fat," says Dunn Gifford, president of Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust of Boston, which promotes old food traditions. "Now, in the beginning of this decade, we have low-carb, no-carb. It's the same thing." Gifford's group is orchestrating a three-day conference in Rome later this month to combat pasta's bad rap. Researchers from Harvard and chefs will be among the participants.

Fad or not, Atkins and the no-carb movement have become a hot topic at pasta companies, where sales have been stagnating or declining for the past few years.

Although the late Dr. Robert Atkins recommended "controlled carbohydrate" pasta in his bestselling book, he wrote that if dieters want the real thing, they could cook pasta al dente, reducing the absorption rate of carbohydrates into the bloodstream.

Some nutritionists don't believe this is possible. "If Dr. Atkins were alive today, I would say, `Where is the data?' " says Tufts University nutrition professor Jeanne Goldberg.

The popular Atkins regimen has benefited American Italian Pasta Co., which makes Mueller's noodles and an Atkins-branded pasta. The company, along with Barilla and a bevy of other manufacturers, is one of the Rome conference sponsors. American Italian will spend about $15 million marketing a line of low-carb pasta that should be in supermarkets this month, according to Dan Trott, vice president of marketing.

Some companies have decided not to change their product. Robert McNulty, president of Mama Rosie's Co. of Charlestown, says his company has no plans to roll out low-carb pasta. And New World Pasta of Harrisburg, Pa., which makes Prince and San Giorgio, has no plans either, says marketing director Dave Heimbecker. Others have hopped on the bandwagon. In response to a decline in sales, the Monterey Pasta Co. of Salinas, Calif., came out with CarbSmart. The pasta is the only refrigerated, low-carb pasta available, says spokesman Kevin Kiper.

In order to scrape off the carbs, Monterey Pasta reduced the amount of flour in the dough and pumped in dietary fiber and egg and vegetable proteins. But, Kiper says, the end product looks and tastes the same as regular pasta -- sans the carbs.

Late last year, the Hain Celestial Group, based in Garden City, N.Y., introduced CarbFit, a low-carb pasta, under the Deboles name. "We have been pleasantly surprised at how it's doing," said Rich Rein, senior brand manager.

Rein says the pasta doesn't have the same taste as durum wheat noodles. It's closer in flavor to whole wheat pasta. Instead of using traditional durum wheat semolina, soy flour in the pasta helps lower carbohydrates and increase protein levels.

But might this just be another case of opportunistic marketing? "It can't be that big a fad if TGI Friday's and other restaurants are adding low-carb items to their menus," counters Rein.

Dr. Caroline Apovian, director of Boston University's Center for Nutrition and Weight Management, disagrees. "This is just another way for the food industry to sell pasta," she says. Apovian says people are forgetting about calories. In other words, she says, it might be better to have a little bit of the real thing than a lot of the low-carb version.