Experts Say Industry Food Labels Deceptive

Manufacturers Add "Smart Choices" Labels to Packages, Mimicking Government Nutrition Labels; Bid to Push Processed Foods?

(CBS)  It's a controversy that's as close as your local supermarket shelf - those familiar government nutrition labels. Now some big food manufacturers are adding labels of their own, as CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston reports.

Since the mid 1990s, if Americans wanted to know what was in their food, they had to look at government-approved nutrition facts on the side of the box.

Now, some packaged foods are getting new front-of-the-box labels.

"The purpose is to help people make choices about healthier food and to make different selections than they are making now," said Mike Hughes, chairman of the Smart Choices program.

Smart choices is a system designed by and paid for by the nation's major food manufacturers and managed by the American Society of Nutrition.

But critics say the program has a very different objective.

"The point of the program is to make processed foods look healthy when you really want people eating foods that have been as minimally processed as possible," said Dr. Marian Nestle, a professor of nutritional studies at New York University.

Nestle was astounded by some of the products that rate the Smart Choice designation.

"This is the first product that I've seen with this logo on it," she said, holding a box of Fruit Loops cereal. "And I was kind of amazed because this is a sugary cereal."

Food manufacturers say just because a product contains sugar doesn't make it bad.

"We believe that the smart choices program, taken in its totality, will encourage people to eat in line with U.S. dietary guidelines for Americans," Hughes said.

So far, 10 large food manufacturers, like Kellogg's and Kraft, are part of the Smart Choices program. With approximately 500 products, including Fruit Loops, Kid Cuisine cheeseburgers, Teddy Grahams and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, carrying the Smart Choices label.

The green mark does not mean government approval, but critics say there's a danger some consumers won't know that.

Shopper Laurie Adams told us that she believed the green check mark meant that the product was a healthy choice.

The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates food labeling, is keeping close watch on the Smart Choices program. The major concern is that the labels may mislead consumers and encourage them to buy highly processed foods instead of fruits and vegetables.

[chalunen]

As I look around in most every grocery store in the U.S. I notice one common theme: manufacturers making greater and grander product claims-- claims that simply are not based upon any fact. It is all about selling product to a public that will believe anything they read or hear. We need to wake up and stop supporting these greedy corporations and start watching out for our own wellbeing.

[xpandngreal8y]

do you know that most of your food contains HEAVY doses of Fluoride and other poisons because it is processed with fluoridated water ? and of course thats not on the label ! want to learn more and help ? http://stopfluoride.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/fluoride-problemsolution/

[SunDog8259]

I think they should make different, but very similar, products labels use a different background color. I don't know how many times I have been tricked by food labels and end up taking home something marked in small print only "lite", "with pits", "cherry flavored", "tuna in oil", "low-fat", "fat-free" etc ...

The last can of Macadamia nuts I snatched off the shelf at Wal-Mart looked exactly like my usual brand; except after opening at home, looking carefully, I noticed a one liner in small print "with cashews" :(

[billpl-2009]

First order of business is NOT what you, but rather how MUCH you eat.

The human body is perfectly capable of burning junk as well as the "good" stuff.

It's only when all that "junk" starts sticking around inside your body that all the real trouble begins

[billpl-2009]

First order of business is NOT what you, but rather how MUCH you eat.

The human body is perfectly capable of burning junk as well as the "good" stuff.

It's only when all that "junk" starts sticking around inside your body that all the real trouble begins

[RCHEFHOAGIE]

Oscar Mayer sliced Turkey Breast with White Meat, shows no cholesterol on their dietary info? Cant be !! Dietz and Watson makes a horseradish sauce which shows it has egg yolks in it, but again no cholesterol on the label.A Bag of potato chip that gets 8 servings, tell me one person who can eat just 6 chip? Again the government helping food manufacturers to make us sick so we can buy some expensive meds made by those crooks the drug companies

[credibility2]

What's next? Perhaps an audio sensor that will speak to the consumer about what's in the product? There's already a sufficient amount of information on the side labels. Obviously people are too lazy to read the side or back of the package. Nothing like more spoon feeding to government-reliant dummies.

[debinok1]

A simple way to decide if something is suitable for human consumption is this: If it cannot be made at home, then it should not be consumed. If it can be made at home, it will be healthier and taste better if it is made at home. The problem with processed foods is they are generally stored for months possibly years, where the need for the additives and stabilizers comes in. Look for the sell by date on any processed food, cereal especially is generally a year or more. If the sell by date is longer than you would keep a leftover, then it is filled with additives and stabilizers. Fresh grains, vegetables, fruits and meats can generally be made into decent meals without excess processing and additives. It takes a little more time and effort, but is worth it. If time is an issue then set one day aside to preplan, prep and freeze foods for the weeks meals. Most foods freeze well for short term use without needing additives and stabilizers.

[docpeter1953]

That's it!

After reading all of the above posts I am now convinced that Captain Crunch is the way to go.

Save Fruit Loops for those fruity people.

[opleez]

I think it's criminal that these food companies can sell items that are harmful to our health and it's especially disgusting when they target children with their crap!! It makes me sick when I see commercials geared to kids for foods laced with hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup and ingredients I?ve never heard of or can?t pronounce. It's appalling that these food giants have no conscience and they can contribute to the health crisis in this country using the excuse that it?s ?just business?. Shame on the FDA for allowing these companies to saturate their foods with unhealthy ingredients, sugars and chemicals. Just who are they protecting.. The US citizens or the profits of these companies?? Their defense is that it?s harmless in small amounts. Well, once all foods are filled with this crap the digested amounts are anything but small! We need to get back to basics. That is the only way to protect the health of our children and grandchildren. If it?s convenience you are looking for buy a crockpot, make a batch of cookies or brownies for the week, make a bowl of fruit salad. It?s healthier because you know and control what is in your foods and the whole family can get involved. They won?t sell this stuff is no one buys it. Time to show them who is in charge in this country.

[tmhjr]

There are 15,000 chemicals that are deemed safe 4 use in foods,as per the FDA/FTC.Just because they are there in trace amounts doesn't make them safe,especially when your body doesn't digest them.Where people go wrong is in trusting federal agency's like the FDA/FTC,most folks believe that if they can buy it on the shelf at the store it is safe 4 consumption.These large company's dump billions of dollars into FDA/FTC just so they will turn a blind eye.You want to restructure health care,how about starting at the root of the problem.Start educating folks about how they are contributing to the health care fiasco.All these large company's as well as the FDA/FTC know exactly what is going on!You eat garbage for years,you get sick,then it's off to the Doc's,then take take these 10 different prescriptions,then sick again due 2 side affects,then back 2 Doc's to repeat the process all over again.They have you right where they want you

[cac1958]

Common sense should tell people that processed, frozen, boxed food is not healthy. To many people want short cuts when it comes to cooking meals. I eat the way I was raised, meat, fresh vegetables and fruit. The only things I buy in a box are oatmeal and spaghetti noodles. I do not buy anything frozen or processed.

[displeased]

Some people know the right foods to eat but still choose the crap foods because sodium and sugar is more satisfying. Some people don't have common sense and are nutritionally challenged. These are the people that can be easily convinced that a bad food is good for you.

[emh1701]

I agree with those who say we need to get back to home cooking. So many people these days either buy fast food or eat out most of the time. It is less expensive to cook for yourself, and healthier as well. Go to your library or local bookstore and get yourself a cookbook. It's not difficult to learn the basics of cooking.

[clancy49]

Choices. Ask your child if he or she knows what a beet looks like, or rhubarb? We have chosen to put our lives in the hands of the corporate greedy. We have been enslaved with economics and even where we live we have no time and no space to grow our own healthy organic foods. Even our homes have overseers called HOA where if we wanted we couldn't grow fruit and vegetables. Just eat and be merry for tomorrow you die. If the food doesn't kill us, the medical problems we have from it will. Don't forget that every pill the doctor gives us has so many after effects that are more dangerous than the illness we're going to die from the medicine anyway.

[thejoker12]

There are things in food products that aren't listed on the lables. Trace items that seep into the product from plastic containers. Are we positive milk in plastic jugs are OK? Cottage cheese? How clean is the corn, rice or wheat before they grind it up for cerial? How about the hormones injected in to cattle and chickens. Remember how the Government banned the right to lable meat as hormone free because the goverment feared people would not eat injected meat. Can we really trust the government. How about back in the '80's when health officials claimed eggs were bad so companies created processed eggs sold in wax lined containers. Was that healthy? These guidlines are not always right. The food reguirments are not necessarily acurate. It is different throughout the world. Why get in a tizzy over the green check?

[pensacola8-2009]

As usual, when capitalists tell consumers what to think, capitalists get rich and consumers are worse off.

Smart Choice is another example where capitalists try to tell consumers what to think when deciding what food to buy and eat.

This is why those who favor consumers like government. There is no profit in telling the consumers the truth, and the only loser will be the capitalist who can't find something worthwhile to sell.

Keeping addictive ingredients out of food and insisting food actually is nutritious was the biggest motivation in forming the FDA.

Never trust a capitalist to give consumers their education.

[whatdableep]

WOW - Why are people Shocked that Corporations LIE to US???? Geez sheeple, This is commonplace with Corporations - it is not about people - it is about MONEY!

[estabwary]

Read the INGREDIENTS, the rest is smoke and mirrors.
Go online and teach yourself what real food & good nutrition means.
Make a hobby out of it; well worth your time.

[foodessentials]

Agree with your point here. Reading the INGREDIENTS is one of the best ways to have a better idea what is really in the food that you eat. These product rating systems very rarely consider ingredients.

Take for instance FROOT LOOPS, which contains aproximately 37 ingredients including several different kinds of preservatives and colors.

The breakdown of the food label can be found at the link below:

http://foodessentials.com/label/Kellogg%27s_Froot_Loops_Cereal/3800001710/21861

Another fact learned from our FoodEssentials site: Froot Loops ( 46.88% sugar)- aparently a ¨smart choice¨ product contains more sugar than all the adult cereals (closest adult product is Kellogg's Bran Cereal at 37% sugar) . Does that mean that all adult cereals are also ¨smart choice¨ foods or that there is a high degree of ¨flexibility¨ in the smart choice program?

[cbsblogger]

We deserve to know where it is made and where the ingredients come from. Instead we get a generic statement that includes nothing about country of origin, such as Distributed by xyz New Brunswick, NJ.

That tells us nothing.

[rwsmith29456]

Food labels deceptive? NO WAY!

[stopoil]

Stop fooling yourselves. Look how the tobacco industry lied and killed US citizens in the name of profit. At least now the truth is out. The food industry is NO DIFFERENT. High fructose corn syrup in everything from cereals to bread. Kids get addicted to sugar leading to overweight and diabetes. Can you get them to stop using artery blocking hydrogenated oils. NO! Artificial sweeteners. Just use raw sugar and cut back in the use of it. It is just what you get used to. Vegamite is popular in Australia. Have you ever tried it? Brewers yeast extract used as a spead on toast etc. Bitter awful taste unless you were raised on it. The food industry pays off congressman so Congress does not act in the interest of what is good for consumers. It is all about politians being paid off by the food industry so they can make more profits off of the health of Americans by extending hooking them on sugar and extending shelf life in the stores. Stop complaining America. You still do not mind filling your gas guzzlers with oil and sending hundreds of billions of your dollars overseas.

[woeisme1]

Why must the "government" be blamed for everything? Why not simply put the blame where it belongs - the immoral, greedy manufacturers?