Eater's Digest: FDA Claims

By Scott Norgaard     4/8/10 7:00pm

Food manufacturers are keen to make their products seem appealing, giving the impression that their products not only taste great, but are good for the body too. On an average trip to the grocery store, shoppers walk by hundreds of food items proudly displaying healthy claims, like "made with whole grain" or "light" or even "calorie free."The Food and Drug Administration regulates some of these claims, and asserts that these labels give customers more information to make healthier food choices.But are these labels helping us to become healthier, or are they just making us more confused? Is it really possible to lower your risk of heart attack simply by switching your cereals?

Some heath claims (like "a low-fat diet may help lower the risk of developing some types of cancer") and nutritional claims ("light" or "calorie free" packaging labels) are carefully regulated by the FDA, which has developed specifications for the manufacturers who want to make health or nutritional claims. For instance, in order to claim that "a low-fat diet may help reduce the risk of developing some types of cancer," a product must have three grams of fat or fewer per serving. Fish and game meats that are denoted "extra lean" require fewer than five grams of fat, fewer than two grams of saturated fat and fewer than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving.In order to be labeled "low calorie," a food must have 40 calories or fewer per serving, and "lowfat" foods must have three grams of fat or fewer per serving.

So what's not to like about educating people about the nutrition value of their food? Consumer research groups and newspapers have recently begun to study the impact of these claims, and the results are not as promising as the FDA might imagine. It turns out that many of these claims have misled consumers; others are so loosely defined by the FDA that they are meaningless. "All natural," for instance, is an inconsistent, unregulated FDA label that appears throughout the country's grocery stores, yet this information fails to inform the consumer of the product's ingredients.

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In a March 2010 report titled "Food Labeling Chaos," the Center for Science in the Public Interest points out the need for reform in health and nutrient claims on the foods we buy.

"We've seen the emergence of claims that may not provide the full picture of their products' true nutritional value," FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said.

The report criticizes claims approved by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act passed by Congress in 1990. The bill attempted to better inform consumers about the products they eat, and to make it easier for the public to follow the surgeon general's recommendations for healthy diets that are "low in fats, low in salt and high in fiber."

The CSPI's report points out that the "NLEA left some categories of other types of health-related claims unregulated, such as those that claim that a nutrient in a food can positively affect the structure or function of the body." The report mentions Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies, whose packaging boasts that the antioxidants and nutrients in the product help "support your child's immunity." Such beneficial sounding claims, it turns out, may not be all that they are hyped up to be. Cocoa Krispies may not have the same effect as medicine.

Furthermore, even the purported health benefits of some products in full compliance with the FDA's standards are questionable. Unfortunately, health and nutrient claims on product packaging are often unreliable sources of information.

For instance, General Mills' brand FiberOne contains a product line of muffin mixes, yogurts and cereals. The packaging frequently references claims that the product contains 35 percent of the recommended daily amount of fiber. The added fiber, or "'isolated fiber," in these products contains inulin (which is derived from chicory root) and may not be as beneficial as fiber derived from naturally occurring sources like oats and barley.So though the product technically meets the FDA's fiber measurements, the inulin-derived fiber in these products probably does not have the same beneficial health effects of naturally occurring fiber.

These are just a few gaps in the FDA's regulations that many corporations exploit in order to make their products seem healthier and more appealing to health-conscious consumers.

So what how should one evaluate the nutritional value of a product? I recommend looking directly at the nutrition facts label, which labels each ingredient by weight. One should generally stay away from foods with hydrogenated oils, artificial sugars and enriched grains.

Realize that the wording of some claims - "made with real fruit," or "made with whole grains" - is quite unhelpful. These claims do not inform the consumer how much of the desired ingredient is contained in the product. Fruit snacks may boast "made with real fruit" while only containing a small amount of concentrate amid a pile of sugar. Breads boasting "made with whole grains" may be loaded with enriched white flour or contain a negligible amount of whole grains. To truly educate yourself about what you're eating, look at the ingredients list, and ignore the inaccurate or misleading nutrition claims.

Scott Norgaard is a Sid Richardson College freshman.

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