Food fooling

Health claims on food labels

By Savannah Naffziger

July 2, 2008

Here’s a name game for you: Guess from a product’s fancy title what it actually is.

Dole’s Wildly Nutritious Tropical Fruit? Nothing more than frozen sliced fruit. Crystal Light Immunity Berry Pomegranate? A sugar-loaded drink containing less than 2 percent juice. And Green Giant’s Immunity Boost? Despite the medical-sounding name, this is simply frozen vegetables and an olive-oil sauce.

The fruits and vegetables in these products, of course, are probably good for you. But the claims are misleading — either flatly untrue (Crystal Light) or blatantly obvious (Fruit is good for you? Who knew?)

Which is why the Center for Science in the Public Interest issued a complaint last week urging the FDA to put a stop to these and other claims.

Over at What To Eat, Marion Nestle links to a lawyer’s advice to consumers on how to avoid being fooled, and offers suggestions to food producers about how to not get sued. Head over there if you’re confused about what labels might mean.