FDA probing nutrition claims on food packages

U.S. regulators are examining the growing number of nutrition claims found on the front of food packages after complaints that they give a misleading picture of their health benefits, officials said in a warning to food companies on Tuesday.

The Food and Drug Administration is trying to determine if any claims violate federal food labeling rules and “will take enforcement action against any egregious examples,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told reporters.

FDA officials also are developing a proposed regulation to define nutritional criteria for claims made on the front of food packages, Hamburg said.

The FDA is acting as companies increasingly add nutrition claims to the front of packages to catch the attention of hurried shoppers who might not read the detailed facts about a food’s content on the back, she added.

“Some nutritionists have questioned whether this information is more marketing-oriented than health-oriented, and judging from some of the labels that we have seen, we think this is a valid concern,” Hamburg said.

In a letter to food companies, the agency said it was “currently analyzing (front-of-package) labels that appear to be misleading.”

Asked to give examples of questionable claims, Hamburg said some foods with almost 50 percent sugar were displaying a “Smart Choices” checkmark. Other package fronts boast a high percentage of the recommended daily vegetable intake but fail to mention that the products contain 80 percent of the suggested fat allowance, she said. She did not name specific products.

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