U.S. regulators are
examining the growing number of nutrition claims found on the
front of food packages after complaints that they give a
misleading picture of their health benefits, officials said in
a warning to food companies on Tuesday.
The Food and Drug Administration is trying to determine if
any claims violate federal food labeling rules and "will take
enforcement action against any egregious examples," FDA
Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told reporters.
FDA officials also are developing a proposed regulation to
define nutritional criteria for claims made on the front of
food packages, Hamburg said.
The FDA is acting as companies increasingly add nutrition
claims to the front of packages to catch the attention of
hurried shoppers who might not read the detailed facts about a
food's content on the back, she added.
"Some nutritionists have questioned whether this
information is more marketing-oriented than health-oriented,
and judging from some of the labels that we have seen, we think
this is a valid concern," Hamburg said.
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