A recent article discusses a claim about immunity placed on the front of it’s Rice Krispies boxes. Kellogs decided to pull the claims from its boxes due to the increased worries of consumers about the swine flu, even though it will not change any properties of the cereal. Although the FDA is supposed to monitor claims on product packaging, the company itself is supposed to ensure these claims are true.
I speculate that Kellog’s removed the claim from its packaging to avoid litigation or so that it would not be under increased scrutiny from the FDA or the consuming public. I recently wrote an entry about food labeling and discussed about grocery store labels on how to read them, and about a new rating system that is coming out in grocery stores around the nation.
When it comes to the health of our family, there are many things to consider, but do you think that there needs to be an overhaul, or just slight changes to the way our FDA system works? With an increased rise to food recalls, and labeling confusion, is it really proper to risk our health, and that of our family to let the system go unchecked?
As for me, I would like to see more accountability, less confusion when it comes to food packaging, and less recalls because quality assurance measures are taken before products are out in the market and in our food stream. There needs to be changes to the system as it is now, and hopefully we’re in the right direction, but the way our food sytem is working is causing too many illnesses in people, and consumers are not getting the right information and education.
There are many other companies being put under the magnifying glass of the FDA and claims that have gone on for years are finally being analyzed. Cheerios is a product that’s been making claims to help lower cholesterol for quite some time, and the FDA is not just analyzing the fact that these types of claims are illegal because the claims would require clinical studies, something that General Mills did not conduct.
When it comes to food packaging, does information on the front of the label move you to make a decision about the product? Would you like there to be more critical information in an easy-to-read format, rather than the enigmatic jargon that only a nutritionist or dietitian can read? Should there be standards for quality assurance that are uniform for certain types of products? Do you have any ideas on how our system should be changed?
In any case, stay informed, and make your voice heard.
To your health,
~Hale Mom
