FOOD DRINK NUTRITION DIET: NUTRITION : FOOD DRINK NUTRITION DIET: FOOD PRODUCT LABELING: CSPI Urges FDA Crackdown on False and Misleading Food Labeling
David P. Dillard
.
FOOD DRINK NUTRITION DIET: NUTRITION :
FOOD DRINK NUTRITION DIET FOOD PRODUCT LABELING
CSPI Urges FDA Crackdown on False and Misleading Food Labeling
CSPI Urges FDA Crackdown on False and Misleading Food Labeling
New Report Makes Case for Ending Food Labeling Chaos
CSPI Newsroom
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
<http://www.cspinet.org/new/200912291.html>
WASHINGTON-Can orange juice really help prevent or treat arthritis? That's
the implication on the label of a Minute Maid orange juice fortified with
glucosamine hydrochloride "designed to help protect healthy joints." And
it's exactly the kind of misleading health claim that the Center for
Science in the Public Interest wants the federal government to stop. Today
the group is sending the Food and Drug Administration a 158-page report
that documents some of the most egregious examples of false claims,
ingredient obfuscations, and other labeling shenanigans.
Though under the Obama Administration the FDA is sending more warning
letters to food manufacturers about misleading labeling, many major
companies, including Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Kraft, General Mills, and Nestl
continue to confuse or defraud consumers about the health effects,
ingredients, or "natural"-ness of their products. Some notable offenders
include:
Kellogg: On labels for Smart Start Strawberry Oat Bites cereal, the
company deliberately misreads a report from the Institute of Medicine to
claim, falsely, that consumers can eat 125 grams-more than half a cup-of
added sugars per day. CSPI says FDA should establish a Daily Value for
added sugars, require its disclosure on Nutrition Facts panels, and
provide definitions for terms such as "low sugar."
Nestl Labels for the company's Carnation Instant Breakfast misleadingly
claim that its antioxidants "help support the immune system." While it is
true that serious deficiencies in vitamins A, C, and E and other
antioxidants can lead to serious health problems, consuming this or other
products that make this common claim won't help ward off colds, the flu,
or other maladies.
Kashi: A Kellogg-owned brand, Kashi falsely claims that the green tea in
its Heart to Heart Instant Oatmeal will "support healthy arteries." The
FDA does have a so-called qualified health claim for green tea that
relates to cancer but has not agreed that green tea can protect arteries
or fend off heart disease.
<snip>
In May, the FDA instructed General Mills to drop exaggerated heart disease
and cancer claims on labels and its web site for its Cheerios cereal. And
in October, FDA expressed concern over the industry-wide Smart Choices
front-of-packaging labeling program. Both moves were praised by CSPI and
were seen as a sign that the agency will more aggressively police food
labeling.
CSPI wants the agency to prohibit qualified health claims for foods.
Unlike "health claims," which must meet a "significant scientific
agreement" standard, qualified health claims include disclaimers
explaining that the scientific evidence is uncertain. CSPI also wants the
FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prohibit misleading
"structure/function" claims that a given food will "support" or "maintain"
healthy immune systems, joints, vision, and so on. Consumers simply can't
distinguish between stringently regulated health claims, which require FDA
approval, and structure/function claims, which don't, according to CSPI.
"Consumers need honest labeling so they can spend their food dollars
wisely and avoid diet-related disease," said CSPI senior staff attorney
Ilene Ringel Heller, co-author of the report. "Companies should market
their foods without resorting to the deceit and dishonesty that's so
common today. And, if they don't, the FDA should make them."
--------------------------------------------------------
The complete article may be read at the URL above.
PRE-PUBLICATION COPY
Food Labeling Chaos: The case for reform
This report was written by Bruce Silverglade, Director of Legal Affairs,
and Ilene Ringel Heller, Senior Staff Attorney, at the Center for Science
in the Public Interest. The authors would especially like to thank Dr.
Michael Jacobson for his counsel and thoughtful review; Bonnie Liebman and
David Schardt for their input; Hayley Reynolds for her excellent research
assistance and support; and Debra Brink for design and formatting.
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Center for Science in the Public Interest
1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, #300
Washington, DC 20009
Tel: 202-332-9110 Fax: 202-265-4954
Email: cs...@cspinet.org Internet: www.cspinet.org
<http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/food_labeling_chaos_report.pdf>
Contents
Acknowledgements
Executive Summary
I.
Introduction
II.
Improving the Nutrition Facts Panel
III.
Standardizing Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labeling
IV.
Making Ingredient Labels Easier to Read
V.
Disclosing Caffeine Content
VI.
Stopping Misleading Structure/Function Claims
VII.
Prohibiting Qualified Health Claims for Foods
VIII.
Halting Misleading "0" Trans Fat Claims
IX.
Stopping Misleading Ingredient Claims
X.
Controlling Misleading Natural Claims
XI.
Compilation of Recommendations
Executive Summary
The provision of accurate, easy-to-read, and scientifically valid
nutrition and health information on food labels is an essential component
of a comprehensive public health strategy to help consumers improve their
diets and reduce their risk of diet-related diseases.
However, as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Margaret
Hamburg recognized in a 2009 speech to the National Food Policy
Conference, "[T]he public health importance of food labeling as an
essential means for informing consumers about proper nutrition . . . has
not been substantially addressed since the FDA implemented the Nutrition
Labeling and Education Act, more than 16 years ago."
FDA Commissioner Hamburg also noted, "[W]e've seen the emergence of claims
that may not provide the full picture of their products' true nutritional
value. It will be important to reestablish a science-based approach to
protect the public. . . . " Indeed, misleading claims, ranging from
promises that a food can "strengthen" your immune system to misleading
pictures on the fronts of food labels that misrepresent the type and
quantity of fruits and vegetables in a processed food, are out of control
and interfere with the consumer's ability to make healthy food choices.
Summary of Recommendations
Problems with food labels can be broken down into three basic categories:
o
Improving the Nutrition Facts Panel
o
Improving ingredient labels
o
Stopping false and misleading health-related claims
The FDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have
recently begun addressing some of those challenges. The FDA has announced
it will test consumer reactions to simplified nutrition labels that could
be used on the fronts of packages, pressured General Mills to drop
exaggerated health claims for Cheerios cereal and stopped the use of
industry's Smart Choices program. The USDA has re-proposed rules requiring
nutrition labeling on fresh meat and poultry and published an Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in an effort to stop misleading "All
Natural" claims on meat and poultry labels. But much more work needs to be
done.
Summary of Recommendations
1. Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling - Key nutrition information should
be summarized, using easy-to-comprehend symbols, on the fronts of food
packages.
2. Improving the Nutrition Facts Panel - The existing nutrition label
needs to be simplified by:
o
Deleting extraneous information;
o
Providing clearer, more accurate information on calorie, sugars, and fiber
content;
o
Changing disclosures for "Amount Per Serving," and "Serving Size" to
statements like "Amount Per Cup Serving."
o
Prohibiting deceptive nutrition disclosures for large single-serving
packages;
o
Making nutrition labeling mandatory for single-ingredient meat and poultry
products.
3. Ingredient Labels - The format of ingredient labels should be
modernized by:
o
Redesigning the ingredient list so that ingredient information is
presented in a format similar to that used for nutrition information;
o
Requiring that sources of added sugars be grouped together to give a
better indication of total sugar content;
o
Requiring that the amounts of key ingredients be disclosed as percentages
of the total weight of the product;
o
Mandating that caffeine content be disclosed in a conspicuous location on
the information panel.
The following side-by-side comparison illustrates some of the changes that
need to be made to the Nutrition Facts Panel and the ingredient list.
Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jw...@temple.edu
<http://daviddillard.businesscard2.com>
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