FDA To (Finally!) Fight Misleading Food Labeling

Stroll down any grocery aisle and you are bound to see a bevy of foods with labels proclaiming products “Healthy” or a “Smart Choice”. But are all these foods really good for you? According to Reuters, the FDA is now looking into whether these claims are a misleading marketing scheme or a true measure of a food’s nutritional value.

The FDA needs a full investigation to determine this? Even my 6-year old son could tell you that Cookie Crisp Cereal, despite the “Smart Choice” label on the front of the box, is not a healthy breakfast option. Nor is Froot Loops Cereal, another product bearing the “Smart Choice” claim.

Finally, the FDA is looking closely into these claims. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg vows to “take enforcement action against any egregious examples.” According to Hamburg, “some foods with almost 50 percent sugar were displaying a “Smart Choices” checkmark. Other package fronts boast a high percentage of the recommended daily vegetable intake but fail to mention that the products contain 80 percent of the suggested fat allowance.” Yet they still are able to display the “Smart Choice” seal? Mike Hughes, chairman of the Smart Choices Program, says it “complies with all U.S. laws and regulations.” If so, these laws and regulations clearly need to be updated!

I hope these companies are not simply slapped with a fine. If so, it might make financial sense for the companies to continue to print these phony nutrition claims and simply pay the fee. The FDA needs to take this consumer manipulation seriously and pull these products off the shelves. Our country is in the midst of an obesity epidemic and we need to do all we can to educate (not confuse) the general public. Frankly, I am shocked that it has taken the FDA this long to look into this.