Friday, March 5, 2010

FDA Taking Charge on Nutrition Labeling, At Long Last

Labels: at 6:13 AM

After reviewing 17 food manufacturer's nutrition labels, the FDA has just recently issued letters demanding changes be made to the products. The violations include unauthorized health or nutrition-content claims, and unauthorized use of words such as "healthy," which have strict, regulated definitions by the Food and Drug Administration. I am a strong supporter in the fight versus obesity, a disease which is currently plaguing our nation. One of the main aspects which needs to be addressed in this "battle versus the bulge" is consumer education. I frequently have friends ask me about whether or not things are healthy, and what they should and should not eat. Granted I am not a nutrition major, I am not the most qualified source of information, but I am an avid reader of health-related publications, and I try to keep up to speed with wholesome, nutritious food items. I am glad that the FDA is enforcing the law, making sure that company's do not issue deceptive claims, misleading consumers about their food choices. One of the pillars that the American Marketing Association (AMA) stands on is that they will "Do no harm", specifically that they will "consciously avoid harmful actions or omissions by embodying high ethical standards and adhering to all applicable laws and regulations in the choices we make." The food manufacturer's who have knowingly put false, deceptive claims on products such as "Trans Fat Free" should absolutely be held accountable for breaking one of the core values of the AMA.


Another action that the FDA is moving towards implementing is a re-labeling effort for portion size. I have very mixed feelings about this practice, because I do believe that Americans eat too big of portion sizes, and that they need a guide on how much they should be eating. That being said, my cereal label lists 3/4ths of a cup as a portion size, and I eat just under two times that amount. In order to better educate the public about the real number of calories in the food that they consume, I think that nutrition labels should never be deceptive. An example of deceptive labeling is when restaurants' nutrition information (generally available for all restaurants online) has a portion size of two. Many Americans will eat everything that is on there plate, whether they are hungry or not; therefore, serving a customer with a plate that has enough food for two people is essentially just asking for them to overeat.


My hesitance with changing the portion sizes is that it seems to just reflect the fact that Americans do eat too much. I wish that there could be a way to say "Hey, if you eat 4 of these cookies, you will be eating 800 calories! You should really only eat 1, which has 200 calories." People need to be made aware of how many calories are in the servings that they consume. While I think 100 calorie packs are a decent idea, it drives me crazy the type of snacks that they package. 100 calories of Oreos, hmm that's nutritious. One of my favorite tricks is to use snack size Ziplop bags (reuse them!) and divide bulk items into smaller portions right after I unload my groceries. This way I'm never tempted to grab two Ziplocs, and I've created the portion sizes according to recommended guidelines. In conclusion, I think that labeling needs to be changing to get rid of deceiving claims, and portion sizes need to be updated to claims established by nutritionists, not by the manufacturers themselves. It is all about portion control and education -- ending this obesity epidemic is possible, and it is our responsibility to take action.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)