Recently, KIND Healthy Snacks, along with a group of nutrition and health experts, filed a petition asking the F.D.A. to modify regulations around nutrient content claims. Specifically, the group would like to prevent manufacturers of packaged foods such as cereals and snacks to mislead the public by focusing on beneficial nutrients while ignoring unhealthy or unappealing aspects of other ingredients. According to KIND’s CEO Daniel Lubetzky, increasing label transparency will help the consumer make healthier and more educated food choices. Many registered dietitians agree that their clients often make poor food purchasing choices due health claims made on the label.

Key Takeaways:

• Companies often play up a single aspect of a food, such as low fat or fiber content, to distract from preservatives.
• Dietitians claim they see an impact on patients, who having been misled by labels, choose these options over actual healthy one.
• Legislation is moving toward focus on things like whole grain, healthy fats, fruits and vitamins.

“Nutrient content claims are misused on a variety of products, including sugary cereals and snacks and sodium-packed frozen dishes, which highlight beneficial nutrients but avoid calling out other less appealing aspects of the food.”

Read more: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kind-and-public-health-experts-file-petition-urging-fda-to-address-misleading-nutrient-content-claims-300811409.html