US Consumer Watchdog Criticizes Calls for Delay on Nutrition Labels

06 Apr 2017 --- The Center for Science in the Public Interest claim the Grocery Manufacturers Association and trade groups representing bakers, corn refiners, confectioners, millers, and meat and dairy producers are asking to keep the revised Nutrition Facts label from consumers until May 2021, which is five years after the Food and Drug Administration unveiled it last May.

The non-profit consumer advocacy group says it has obtained a copy of a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Thomas Price calling for the delay which is also backed by the Vinegar Institute and the Association for Dressings & Sauces, also calling for a delay. 

At the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, President Trump’s nominee for FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb indicated that he would favor delay of the Nutrition Facts updates to line up with whenever the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s upcoming rule requiring disclosure of ingredients from genetically modified crops takes effect.  

The trade associations in their letter to Price also support a delay for that reason, says the CSPI. 

Last May the FDA announced the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. The new label will make it easier for consumers to make better informed food choices. 

The then-First Lady Michelle Obama was also involved in the campaign. 

According to CSPI, at least one company, Mars, Inc., has told Secretary Price that if FDA issues final guidance, it could deploy the new Nutrition Facts label by July 2018. Otherwise it would only need an additional year to comply.

“It is mind-boggling that the food industry is fighting transparency and consumer information even though that’s exactly what their customers want,” said CSPI president Michael F. Jacobson. “Not only is industry undermining the public’s health, it is undermining its own credibility.”

The industry is also complaining that it will have to make decisions without final guidance from the FDA on issues involving dietary fiber and added sugars, says the CSPI.  

“In short, the food industry is seeking to delay giving consumers critical nutrition information for as long as possible,” Jacobson added.