Health claims on food confuse most consumers

Jan 22 2006

According to a study by the International Food Information Council, consumers are increasingly confused by the health claims on many food labels.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that as few as 22 percent of those surveyed were able to sift through the evidence in the correct order.

They say the language approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not communicate the intended levels of scientific certainty to consumers and could be improved with better wording or graphics.

The FDA have granted approval for the manufacturers of foods containing tomatoes, calcium, barley and other ingredients to advertise the products as helpful for reducing risks of diseases such as heart disease, cancer or osteoporosis.

Apparently if the claims are not supported by "significant scientific agreement," they come with one of three disclaimers about how solid, or weak, the evidence is behind the statement.

Therefore the evidence is listed as "promising but not conclusive," "limited and inconclusive" or "very limited and preliminary."

The FTC says that this suggests that the current FDA language for qualified claims does not distinguish adequately between the levels of science supporting these claims.

In view of this criticism the FDA is now debating whether the health claims should be revised.

The FDA will review the comments from the FTC and others before deciding whether to make changes to the language used says FDA spokeswoman Kimberly Rawlings.