FDA: Baby Food Nutrition Labels Misleading

(AP)  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on baby food manufacturers and other companies for misleading nutrition labeling on their products, the beginning of a larger effort to set stricter standards for the labels.

The FDA sent warning letters to 17 food companies - including Nestle, which produces Gerber's baby food - for violations it says include unauthorized claims about health, nutrient contents and terms such as "healthy."

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The agency rapped Nestle for making health claims on Gerber carrots for babies and Gerber Graduates puffs because "appropriate dietary levels have not been established for children in this age range," according to the warning letters. The puffs containers claim that the product is "good source of iron, zinc, and Vitamin E."

Several other companies that produce baby food, such as Beech-nut, First Juice, Inc., Want Want Foods and PBM Products, received similar letters.

The agency said in October that nutritional labels from food manufacturers may be misleading consumers about the actual health benefits of cereal, crackers and other processed foods and sent a letter to companies saying it would begin cracking down on inaccurate food labeling. On Wednesday, the agency said it will soon propose new guidelines for calorie and nutrient labeling on the front of food packages.

In the letter to manufacturers, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said access to reliable information is important, given the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases in the United States.

Companies have 15 business days to inform the FDA of the steps they will take to correct the labels.

[formrusmcsgt]

by tmittelstaed March 4, 2010 5:21 AM EST
Baby food is one of the biggest scams ever perpetuated on the American public.
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Agreed.

I raised two sons and when they were ready for solid food they ate what we ate - just tossed their's in the blender first.

Disposeable diapers are another HUGE waste of money.

[formrusmcsgt]

While I'm on the subject of disposeable diapers, I'll add that they are the single most item taken to our landfills as well.

Thousand of dollars and a ton of dirty diapers per kid....incredible.

We kept a diaper pail with Pine-sol that we tossed the diapers into and washed them every couple of days. The savings paid for a new washer and dryer plus...

[tmittelstaed]

Baby food is one of the biggest scams ever perpetuated on the American public. When you have a baby you feed them breast milk, and when they are ready to wean you feed them the same food you eat - excluding the obvious junk like soda pop, beer, potato chips, etc.

It takes no time at all to take portions of the food that you serve the rest of the family for dinner and mash and cut it up for the baby. The food tastes better, it's fresh, and a lot of the vitamins haven't been cooked out of it, and it has different textures that the child appreciates. It's also a heck of a lot cheaper.