[acb-diabetics] FDA says 17 companies have illegal food labels

[Patricia LaFrance-Wolf]

I wonder how many other companies were checked?

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It's a new get-tough policy, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg suggested in
an open letter to the food industry. "We continue to see products marketed

with labeling that violates established labeling standards," Hamburg wrote.
"To address these concerns, FDA is notifying a number of manufacturers that

their labels are in violation of the law and subject to legal proceedings to
remove misbranded products from the marketplace."

 

The FDA says the 17 cited firms committed different kinds of violations:  

 

list of 5 items

. Claims that the food products treat or mitigate disease. Such claims mean
the food is actually an unapproved new drug, the FDA says. 

. Misleading labels on blended juice products that make them appear to be
made entirely from a single juice. 

. "Healthy" claims that do not meet established standards for use of the
term. 

. Claims that a product is free of trans fats on products high in unhealthy
saturated fats. 

. Nutrient claims on foods for children under age 2 that are approved only
for use on foods for adults. 

list end

 

The 17 firms cited, and the products with "misleading" labels, are:

 

list of 17 items

. Beech-nut: Beech-Nut Good Morning Whole Grain Oatmeal with Mixed Fruit
(nutrient claims on products for small children) 

. Diamond Food Inc.: Diamond Shelled Walnuts (unauthorized health claims) 

. Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc.: Nestle Drumstick Classic Vanilla Fudge and
Dreyer's Dibs Bite Sized Ice Cream Snacks Vanilla Ice Cream (unsupported
nutrient

claim; trans-fat-free claim on high saturated-fat product) 

. First Juice Inc.: Organic Fruit and Veggie Juice Beverage products
(unauthorized nutrient and health claims) 

. Fleminger Inc.: TeaForHealth green tea products (promoted for conditions
that cause the products to be drugs) 

. Gorton's Inc.: Gorton's Beer Batter Crispy Battered Fish Fillets
(trans-fat free claim on high-saturated-fat product) 

. Ken's Foods Inc.: Healthy Options Parmesan & Peppercorn, Sweet Vidalia
Onion Vinaigrette, and Raspberry Walnut Dressing (unauthorized health
claims; low-fat

claims on product high in fats) 

. Nature's Path Foods Inc.: Organic Flax Plus Multigrain Cereal (unapproved
nutrient claim) 

. Nestle USA: several Juicy Juice products (misleading claims of juice
content; nutrient claims on products for small children) 

. PBM Products: some Parent's Choice cereal products (nutrient claims on
products for small children) 

. Pompeian: Pompeian Imported Extra Light Olive Oil ("light" claim for
product high in fat; unsupported nutrient claim) 

. POM Wonderful: POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice and POMx products
(promoted for conditions that cause the products to be drugs) 

. Redco Foods: Salada Naturally Decaffeinated Green Tea (promoted for
conditions that cause the product to be a drug) 

. Schwan's Consumer Brands: Mrs. Smith's Classic Coconut Custard Pie
(trans-fat-free claim on product high in saturated fat) 

. Spectrum Organic Products Inc.: Organic All Vegetable Shortening
(cholesterol-free claim on product high in fats) 

. Sunsweet Growers: Sunsweet Antioxidant Blend dried fruit mix (unapproved
nutrient claim) 

. Want Want Foods: Baby Mum-Mum Original Selected Superior Rice Rusks
(nutrient claim on product for small children) 

list end

 

The consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which
has lobbied the FDA to toughen food-label standards, hailed the FDA action
in

a news conference.

 

Bruce Silverglade, CSPI legal affairs director, stated that, "This is a
once-in-a-generation event.... Not since the early 1990s have we seen FDA
actions

of this magnitude." The FDA today also released the results of a survey
showing that more than half of all U.S. adults say they "often" read a label
the

first time they buy a product. It's the first time in the survey's 10-year
history that most adults said they read food labels.

 

FDA  

 

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