FDA Crackdown on False & Misleading Food Labeling

New Report Makes Case For Ending Food Labeling Chaos

FDA Crackdown on False & Misleading Food Labeling

Can orange juice really help prevent or treat arthritis? That is the implication on the label of a Minute Maid orange juice fortified with glucosamine hydrochloride “designed to help protect healthy joints.” And it is exactly the kind of misleading health claim that the FDA wants to put a stop to. A list has been gathered of 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 manufactures about misleading labeling, many major companies, including Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Kraft and General Mills as well as Nestle, continue to confuse of 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 falsely claim that consumers can eat 125 grams of added sugars per day.

Nestle - Labels for Carnation Instant Breakfast misleadingly claim that its antioxidants help “support the immune system.” While it is true that serious deficincies 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 - The Kellogg owned brand, Kashi falsely claims that the green tea in its Heart to Heart Instant Oatmela will help “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.

Minute Maid - The words “all natural” appear on Minute Maid’s Cranberry Apple Cocktail, yet the product contains added citric acid, meaning that the citric acid did not occur naturally in the juice. This product also contains high-fructose corn syrup, which is a highly complex series of chemical changes coverting startch to fructose and glucose.

For far too long, some of the world’s largest food manufacturers have designed their labels either to exaggerate the amount of healthy ingredients, or to imply that the food has magical, drug-like qualities that could prevent or treat serious and various health problems. Consumers need honest labeling so they can spend their food dollars wisely and avoid diet-related disease. Companies should market their foods without resorting to the deceit and dishonesty that is so unfortunately common today, with and without the FDA’s help.

The Team at i-Supplements.com

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