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e-News
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CSPI asks FDA to create healthy food labels |
12.08.2006
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WASHINGTON--Citing the numerous--and "confusing"-- labeling programs on the market, The Center for Science in the Public Interest here announced last week that it has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration for a national food labeling system.
Requesting a supplement to the Nutrition Facts label, CSPI is urging the FDA to create a system that would allow consumers to quickly identify healthy foods. According to the petition, the numerous labeling programs by grocery manufacturers and health organizations already in existence are confusing--and sometimes misleading--to the consumer. "The supermarket is teeming with competing 'healthy food' symbols that run the gamut from highly helpful to fatally flawed," said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director for CSPI, in a prepared statement. "A prominent and reliable symbol on the fronts of packages would be a tremendous help." Jacobson noted that not all consumers have the knowledge or time to read the Nutrition Facts, and that manufacturers such as Kraft, PepsiCo and General Mills often have healthy labels that do not always accurately qualify the nutritional value of their products. CSPI also references the American Heart Association's "heart-check" system as problematic since it does not consider trans fats or added sugar.
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The petition points to other countries' efforts at food labeling as examples the FDA might follow. The United Kingdom uses a green, yellow and red color-dot system to rank fats, salt and sugar, while Sweden marks the healthiest products with a green keyhole image. CSPI also notes Hannaford Bros. Co.'s Guiding Star program, which ranks products with one, two, three or zero stars based on a nutritional analysis of a 100-calorie sample of the food.
CSPI's petition has the support of several doctors from Harvard's School of Public Health and Medical School, and at least one Congressman, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), incoming chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee. "Common-sense food labeling is good for Americans' health. I'm hopeful the FDA will respond positively to CSPI's petition. If not, I may well seek legislative action to address this concern," said the senator in a prepared statement.
Founded in 1971, CSPI is a consumer advocacy organization for nutrition, health, food and alcohol policies. The group has 900,000 members.
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