Don't Believe Everything You Read on Labels

at 4:32 AM

Food makers warned on claims... (Wall street Journal, March 4, 2010)

The FDA has warned 16 food and beverage makers against making claims that don't adhere strictly to federal labeling rules.

I'm sure you have seen the Cheerios commercial where the guy is sitting and eating a HUGE bowl of cereal (Cheerios) hoping to reduce his cholesterol. Of course the commercial says nothing about the factors in this person's life in need of changing like reducing the size of his bowl!! Keep reading...

Last year, the FDA started working a set of criteria that the food industry must meet to make nutritional claims on packages.

For example, the package front of Dreyer's ice cream (a unit of Nestle) claims that the product has zero grams of trans fat but they fail to provide the required adjacent reference to back-panel nutritional information. Products that claim to have zero trans fats but also have more than 4 grams of saturated fat per serving must also refer consumers to the nutritional information. The Dibs ice cream snacks have 20 grams of saturated fat per serving.

It gets more interesting... the FDA also chastised companies for implying that consumption of their foods can some how treat diseases, sort of like taking a drug. POM Wonderful, implies that its pomegranate drink can reduce blood pressure, clear clogged arteries and slow the progress of prostate cancer!! The company's spoke person has said that their claims are supported by scientific research!!

Take a look at POM's website and judge for yourself. Is it good science or simply great marketing? Although I did find out that you can make a great drink with POM and vodka. That will definitely reduce your blood pressure.