Trust the Food Marketers to Tell You the Truth?

Don’t put your trust in the government, either

At first blush, it looks like the government is stepping up its efforts to curb some of the most egregious false health claims being on products made by the big boys in the food world. However, it is beginning to look like recent reprimands are a mere slap on the wrist rather than serious action. Here’s the story:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently slammed theKellogg Company for the second time in a year for making unsubstantiated claims in advertising and on packaging. The first time was when Kellogg claimed that Frosted Mini-Wheats were “clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by nearly 20%.” The FTC reached a “settlement” with the company after telling them they had to shut down the campaign. Kellogg was not fined.

The second time, the company was claiming that Rice Krispies “now helps support your child’s immunity,” with “25 percent Daily Value of Antioxidants and Nutrients – Vitamins A, B, C, and E.” The back of the cereal box said “Kellogg’s Rice Krispies has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy.”

Naughty, naughty the FTC told them. Commissioner Julie Brill and Chairman Jon Leibowitz sent a “dissenting letter” to Kellogg that said, in part, “What is particularly disconcerting to us is that at the same time that Kellogg was making promises to the Commission regarding Frosted Mini-Wheats, the company was preparing to make problematic claims about Rice Krispies.”

Bad company! Bad! Go to your rug! But did the FTC back up the scolding with a fine? Bet you know the answer. Put this together with the revelation that another of the government’s watchdog agencies, the Minerals and Management Service, was allowing oil companies such as BP to write their own regulations and environmental impact statements, and you begin to understand just how much influence big companies have over our governmental watchdogs.

Remember the “Smart Choices” labeling program that came out in 2009? This was a long project that involved giant food companies and nutrition scientists coming up with criteria for putting a nice seal on packaging that was supposed to help the consumer choose healthier products. So how did Froot Loops cereal end up with a Smart Choices seal, when it has 41 percent processed white sugar? Each serving holds 12 grams of the white stuff. And this in a nation that has an obesity epidemic!? And what about full-fat mayonnaise?

As always, it’s consumer beware! Educate yourself about health and nutrition. You simply cannot rely on the big food marketers to give you trustworthy information about what is good for you, nor the government to make sure they do.

We just have to be adults about this.