FDA loosens standards for health claims on food labels

Friday, July 11, 2003 Posted: 10:54 AM EDT (1454 GMT)

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government is loosening restrictions on how much scientific proof is required to advertise a food's possible health benefits on its package, a move welcomed by food makers but one that critics fear will leave consumers prey to quackery in the grocery aisles.

The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it will accept applications to place "qualified" health claims on food labels beginning September 1. Among the first to be considered: that eating several servings a week of salmon and certain other fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids is thought to, but not proved to, reduce the risk of heart disease.

"We want to help increase America's nutritional grade-point average," said FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan. "Americans shouldn't need a science degree to figure out how foods can fit into a healthy diet. Information should be accurate, honest and easy to understand."

Until now, the FDA has enforced a very strict standard about what health claims could be made on food labels. Before oatmeal could boast heart-healthy labels, for example, there had to be significant scientific consensus that oatmeal's fiber helps maintain low cholesterol levels.

Under the new program -- backed by food manufacturers -- FDA will give a grade to applications for new food claims: A for scientifically proven claims; B where the science is good but not conclusive; C when there's limited science to support a claim; and D when there's hardly any.

A-rated claims -- such as "calcium prevents bone-weakening osteoporosis" -- are the kind already permitted, and won't change.

Claims rated a "B, "C," or "D" would be considered qualified, and for the first time could be put on a food label right next to a short disclaimer that describes the level of proof. Whether the letter grade itself also will go on packages is still under consideration.

Wishy-washy advice or good business?

A congressman influential in passing a decade-old law that governs food labeling said the FDA is essentially violating that law.

"FDA's decision is going to permit virtually unsupported health claims on foods," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California. "When consumers see a claim on a product and later learn it was a false claim, they're going to decide perhaps none of the labels on those food products mean anything."

At best, it means wishy-washy health advice will suddenly appear on foods, confusing consumers, said Bruce Silverglade of the consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest

"This action represents the biggest rollback in food-labeling standards in 20 years," said Silverglade. His group is talking with Waxman about a possible legal challenge.

The Grocery Manufacturers of America says low-rated claims make sense in the wake of recent court rulings that allow more loosely regulated dietary supplements to make more far-reaching claims about health effects.

The influential Consumer Federation of America agrees that the court pressure is real, and says the FDA's new program would probably safeguard against abuse.

The budget-stretched FDA will give priority to a number of claims expected to win a good B-rating: The omega-3's heart benefit; that products made with vegetable oils are more heart-healthy than those made with solid fats; that substituting nuts for other fatty proteins also is heart-healthy. Various health groups, such as the American Heart Association, already make some of those recommendations.

Other examples -- some controversial -- the food industry expects to seek: That the antioxidant lycopene, rich in cooked tomato products, can prevent prostate cancer; that lowfat dairy products lower blood pressure; that fiber prevents colon cancer; that compounds in grapes are heart-healthy.

McClellan thinks few manufacturers would bother advertising low-rated claims, instead doing better research or making a product healthier.

"You'd have to do a lot better than a 'C' to attract consumers to your product," he said. "Good nutrition should also be good business."