• Bliss Point Engineering: Food is scientifically designed for addiction
• Corporate Resistance: Industry resists health-driven reform efforts
• Hyperpalatability Strategy: Salt, sugar, fat hijack appetite
• Aggressive Marketing: Junk food targets children relentlessly
• Consumer Empowerment: Awareness shifts eating habits consciously

“Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” reveals how the processed‑food industry systematically engineers our cravings. In this 2013 exposé, Michael Moss delves into the science and strategy behind the “bliss point”—the precise balance of salt, sugar, and fat that makes products irresistible. He guides us through laboratory experiments where food scientists tweak texture, sweetness, and saltiness to create snacks and drinks that are scientifically designed to be addictive .

Moss presents gripping case studies—from Frito‑Lay chips to Lunchables and Oreos—showing how global giants like Kraft and Coca‑Cola use rigorous data and marketing to hook consumers. He shows that these corporations deliberately load their products with unhealthy ingredients to stimulate overeating, while often resisting efforts at voluntary reform. The narrative reads like investigative journalism and never preaches; instead, it lays bare the methods and motivations behind our eating habits.

Michael Moss is uniquely qualified to write this book. He is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, honored in 2010 for explanatory reporting at The New York Times, and a finalist in both 2006 and 1999. His career spans major outlets like The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, and Atlanta Journal‑Constitution, and he has taught at Columbia’s Journalism School. “Salt, Sugar, Fat” tops the New York Times bestseller list, wins the James Beard Award for Writing & Literature, and is translated into over 20 languages. Moss also speaks widely on the subject, delivering keynotes at institutions such as Yale, WHO, and Smithsonian.

In present tense, the book Salt, Sugar, Fat is both alarming and hopeful. Moss exposes the engineered appeal of junk food and shows that awareness empowers us. As we read, we shift from passive consumers to informed actors—ready to question what we eat and why.