FDA concerned about Smart Choices*

Saturday Oct 24, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) –Smart Choices and other front-of-label nutrition symbols or icons have drawn quite some attention from the media after the Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to the food industry voicing its concern that this labeling practice can mislead consumers to make a purchasing decision without considering other nutrition information on the label, as required by the government.

Smart Choices may be the most widely used program to influence consumers' purchasing decisions; food products accepted in the program are thus allowed to carry the icon.  Therefore, those taking part it in are required to meet certain nutrition criteria that the FDA says are not as stringent as the Dietary Guidelines set by the U.S. government.

Michael, Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest posted a statement on Oct 20, 2009 on the organization's website saying "a growing number of privately devised - and sometimes inconsistent - label ing systems may be confusing, not enlightening, some consumers."

He gives an example to illustrate how this Smart Choices program can mislead consumers. He says "Consider Kraft's Strawberry Bagel-ful, which is a mostly white-flour bagel stuffed with cream cheese and strawberry purée that is sweetened with sugar and colored with red dye 40. It's exactly the kind of food we should be eating less of, but it gets the Smart Choices logo."

The issue somehow has drawn attention from Rosa L. Delauro, chairwoman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture Rural Development. Ms. DeLauro sent a letter on Sept 22 to the FDA expressing her concern about nutriton labeling, particularly the Smart Choices front-of-pack (FOP) labeling, which may not adequately help consumers reach accurate conclusions with regards to healthy food choices.

In response, the FDA on Oct 19 sent a letter back to Ms. DeLauro saying the agency did some research and found that "with FOP labeling, consumers are less likely to check the Nutrition Facts label on the information panel of foods (usually, the back or side of the package)."

In the FDA letter, the agency notes that the FDA has the authority to regulate "FOP and shelf labeling that is used in a manner that is false or misleading misbrands the products it accompanies."

A similar letter was addressed to Sarah Krol, general manager of Smart Choices Program, and posted on its website.

In the letter, Michael Taylor, senior Adviser for Food Safety at the FDA, and Jerold Mande, Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety, USDA write "FDA and FSIS would be concerned if any FOP labeling systems used criteria that were not stringent enough to protect consumers against misleading claims; were inconsistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; or had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed foods and refined grains instead of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains."

Jacobson was reportedly working with the Smart Choices program to help develop its criteria, but resigned last year out of concerns that the inclusion criteria were too loose.

Jacobson was cited  by New York Times as saying that he believed that the companies participating in Smart Choices had hoped to head off federal regulation of FOP labeling by showing the FDA that they could develop a system on their own.

Food companies responded differently. David DeCecco, a spokesman for PepsiCo, was cited as saying that the company is withdrawing from the program and only a few products, such as Life cereal and instant oatmeal made by PepsiCo's Quaker, had used the logo.

Kellogg's said it would continue its involvement in the program and that the company's senior vice president of global nutrition Celeste Clark would continue sitting on the program's board.

Kraft, also participating in the program, was cited as saying it planned to stay in the program and continue using the logo.

Margaret Hamburg, the FDA commissioner said cited by New York Times that the agency would take action quickly to adopt rules for FOP nutrition labe ling, which is voluntary and under-regulated currently.

For more information, read http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/LabelClaims/ucm187320.htm

By David Liu davidl at foodconsumer dot org

Smart Choices and other front-of-label nutrition symbols have drawn quite some attention from the media after the Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to the food industry voicing its concern that this labeling practice can potentially mislead consumers to make a purchasing decision without considering other nutrition information already on the label as required by the government.

Smart Choices may be the program that is most widely used by food companies to influence consumers' purchasing decisions. Food products accepted in the program and thus allowed to carry the logo need to meet certain nutrition criteria that the FDA says are not as stringent as the Dietary Guidelines set by the U.S. government.

Michael, Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest on Oct 20 posted a statement on the organization's website saying "a growing number of privately devised - and sometimes inconsistent - labeling systems may be confusing, not enlightening, some consumers."

He gives an example to illustrate how this Smart Choices labeling can mislead consumers. He says "Consider Kraft's Strawberry Bagel-ful, which is a mostly white-flour bagel stuffed with cream cheese and strawberry purée that is sweetened with sugar and colored with red dye 40. It's exactly the kind of food we should be eating less of, but it gets the Smart Choices logo."

Jacobson was reportedly working with the Smart Choices program to help develop its criteria, but resigned last year out of concerns that the inclusion criteria were too loose, New York Times reported.

Jacobson was cited as saying that he believed that the companies participating in Smart Choices had hoped to head off federal regulation of FOP labeling by showing the government that they could develop a system on their own.

The issue somehow has drawn attention from Rosa L. Delauro, chairwoman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture Rural Development. Ms. DeLauro on Sept 22 sent a letter to the FDA expressing her concern about nutrition labeling, particularly the Smart Choices front-of-pack (FOP) labeling, which may not adequately help consumers reach accurate conclusion with regards to healthy food choices.

In response, the FDA on Oct 19 sent a letter back to Ms. DeLauro saying the agency did some research and found that "with FOP labeling, consumers are less likely to check the Nutrition Facts label on the information panel of foods (usually, the back or side of the package)."

In the FDA letter, the agency notes that the FDA has the authority to regulate the FOP and shelf labeling. "FOP and shelf labeling that is used in a manner that is false or misleading misbrands the products it accompanies."

A similar letter titled Guidance for Industry Letter Regarding Point of Purchase Food Labeling was sent to the industry and another letter to Sarah Krol, general manager of Smart Choices Program and posted on its website.

In the letter, Michael Taylor senior Adviser for Food Safety at the FDA and Jerold Mande, Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety, USDA write "FDA and FSIS would be concerned if any FOP labeling systems used criteria that were not stringent enough to protect consumers against misleading claims; were inconsistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; or had the effect of encouraging consumers to choose highly processed foods and refined grains instead of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains."

Food companies responded differently. David DeCecco, a spokesman for PepsiCo was cited as saying that his company is withdrawing from the program and only a few products such as Life Cereal and instant oatmeal made by PepsiCo's Quaker had used the logo.

Kellogg's said it would continue its involvement in the program and that the company's senior vice president of global nutrition Celeste Clark would continue sitting on the program's board.

Kraft, also participating in the program, was cited as saying that it planned to stay in the program and continue using the logo.

Margaret Hamburg, the FDA commissioner said cited by New York Times that the agency would take action quickly to make rules for FOP nutrition labeling, which is voluntary and under-regulated currently.

For more information, read http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/LabelClaims/ucm187320.htm

By David Liu davidl at foodconsumer dot org and editing by Rachel Stockton