THE LATEST JUNK SCIENCE CONTROLS ON FOOD LABELS ENFORCED BY THE FDA AFFECTS KIND FRUIT-AND-NUT BARS. WILL HEALTH CANADA’S FAVOUR OF CENSORSHIP FOLLOW SUIT?
The Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH) reported on April 21, 2015 that, “The FDA recently sent a warning letter to KIND, the company known for making several varieties of fruit-and-nut bars. The letter contends that four of KIND’s products bear the claim on their labels that they are ‘healthy, tasty, convenient, wholesome’ without meeting the federal definition of ‘healthy.'” The FDA has taken offence to the naturally occurring saturated fats present in the nuts used in their bars and wants KIND to remove their claim that their products are “healthy.”
The FDA adheres to the idea that food with over 1 gram of saturated fat per serving cannot constitute as a healthy option. “Scientists have now refuted the notion that saturated fat is bad for the heart, so this federal definition is based on outdated, discredited science. We are concerned that FDA is launching a renewed attack on food and supplement producers claiming any health benefits from their products, no matter how much supporting science there is. This isn’t the first time the FDA has tried to attack structure/function claims or qualified health claims. The agency has been trying for years to lump food, supplements, and drugs all into one category, to be subjected to the same regulations.”
The ANH blog post bullet points a few of FDA’s laws that illustrate how they are crafted to apply censorship onto producers of natural products and foods. “Consumers are already willfully kept in the dark about the value of nutritional superfoods such as walnuts and cherries. If there were no structure/function claims, the supplement industry would be crippled.” As with Health Canada’s regulatory environment, the lines between food and natural health products, are blurred. What is not in question is the ongoing harmonization between the EU, US and Canada. Patterns of restriction will continue to emerge.
Alliance for Natural Health, “FDA Doubles Down on Censoring Food Labels”: http://tiny.cc/g8hixx
The “Warning Letter” KIND received on March 17, 2015 from the FDA:http://tiny.cc/j7hixx
KIND Ingredients and Nutritional Labels: http://tiny.cc/9ujixx
Our American friends can take ACTION to ask the FDA to stop censoring scientific information on food labels: http://tiny.cc/rfiixx
