Food companies in their pursuit for higher sales put up whacky ads and frivilous labels claiming wonders on consumer healths are now being subjected to government scrutiny all across the globe .Here is an instance where FDA has issued warning letters to companies putting up misleading statements on food labels
A report
In a crackdown on dubious claims on food packages, the Food and Drug Administration has sent warning letters to 17 producers for making what it said were misleading statements about nutrition and health benefits. And the agency issued an industry-wide challenge to upgrade the quality of nutrition labeling.
The warning letters apply to 22 products and challenge labeling language on such issues as fat content, nutrient standards and the purported ability of a particular food to prevent medical problems.
The clampdown was hailed as "a once in a generation event" by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit advocacy group which recently released a report documenting purported labeling abuses, including several that earned FDA warning letters.
By coming down on mislabeling, FDA is demonstrating that "the food label is an essential weapon in the toolbox in the fight against obesity and other diseases," said Bruce Silverglade, CSPI's director of legal affairs and a co-author of the report.
Among the targets of the FDA action was a label for Mrs. Smith's Coconut Custard Pie, produced by Schwan's Consumer Brands North America of Bloomington, Minnesota. It advertised that the pie contained no trans fat, but did not disclose that it contained significant levels of saturated fat and total fat.
Similarly, Diamond Foods of Stockton, CA, was cited for a label that claimed that its shelled walnuts warded off maladies such as arthritis, cancer and heart disease. Foods generally are not permitted to make disease-fighting claims.
Read more on
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/michael-jackson/sc-dc-fda-food-labels03-20100303,0,157332.story
