Label Regs –Tom Polischuk

In a similar, but unrelated item, an article in the June 18 issue of The Economist discussed possible FDA regulations for nutritional information on food labeling. The FDA is considering the value of standards geared toward differentiating healthy foods from not-so-healthy (a.k.a., junk) foods.

Part of the drive for this effort results from some recent implementations by various consumer product companies (CPCs), food industry groups, and other associations to provide icons that are supposed to help consumers make educated choices. The article cited PepsiCo's "Smart Spot" logo (2004); Kraft's "Sensible Solution" tag (2005); the American Heart Association's "heart-check" mark; and the "Smart Choices" label endorsed by larger food companies that was scrapped in 2009. Problems have arisen due to inconsistent nutritional criteria applied to the icons, with some history that they can be misleading.