FDA Beats Back Fraudulent Food Labels

by Katherine Gustafson · 2010-03-06 09:00:00 UTC
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Score one for sanity! The FDA is throwing punches in the fight against misleading food labeling. According to Ad Age, the agency has sent letters to 17 companies ordering corrections to the labels on 22 food products. The companies targeted include Nestle, Diamond Foods and POM — the maker of the pomegranate juice that it has stores display in the produce section to make you think it's as healthy as fruit.

Nestle was dinged for Brain Development Fruit Juice.

The FDA claims that the labels on the identified products violate the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act by claiming unverified health benefits and dubiously touting the presence of nutrients. The packages contain the "unauthorized use" of words that have particular, regulated meanings, like "healthy."

"Today, ready access to reliable information about the calorie and nutrient content of food is even more important, given the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases in the United States," Commissioner Margaret Hamburg wrote in a letter to the food industry. The FDA has given the offenders 15 business days to respond with details of the steps they are taking to right the labeling situation.

Photo: (nutmeg) on Flickr

Katherine Gustafson is a freelance writer and editor with a background in international nonprofit organizations.
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