Smart Choices Program Loses Support

According to a recent article in the New York Times, the food industry has started backing away from the Smart Choices labeling campaign meant to highlight the nutritional benefits of hundreds of products.

 

The Smart Choices Program was developed during an open and lengthy collaborative process by a diverse coalition of scientists, nutritionists, public health and public interest organizations and food industry leaders. The program's nutritional criteria are based on the U.S. government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the labels comply with all U.S. laws and regulations.

 

However, PepsiCo, The Kellogg Company and Unilever have stated plans to cut ties with the program after it came under pressure from state and federal authorities who feared consumers would be misled. The F.D.A. sent the program a letter in August voicing concern that the label could lead consumers to choose highly processed foods over healthier foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. And this week, Margaret A. Hamburg, the F.D.A. commissioner, said that the agency would move quickly to devise rules for package-front nutrition labeling, an area that until now has been only loosely regulated.

 

Officials with the program said that Smart Choices would suspend most of its operations while they waited for the F.D.A. to devise regulations for package-front nutrition labeling. Those rules could differ from the program's criteria.

 

"We welcome the FDA's interest in developing uniform front-of-package and shelf-labeling criteria," says Mike Hughes, chair, Smart Choices Program and vice president for science and public policy at the Keystone Center. "The Smart Choices Program shares that exact goal, and was designed to provide a voluntary front-of-package labeling program that could promote informed food choices and help consumers construct healthier diets. We continue to believe the Smart Choices Program is an important step in the right direction."