Connecticut Attorney General's Office
Press Release
Attorney General Says FDA Will Be Powerful Enforcement Partner In Fighting False Food Labels
October 20, 2009
Blumenthal said he welcomes the FDA's support of his ongoing investigations into potentially misleading national food label programs, including one that deems mayonnaise, sugary cereal and other nutritionally suspect foods "Smart Choices."
Blumenthal's Smart Choices investigation is one of several involving possibly deceptive food labels that he has pursued -- and continues to pursue -- in recent years.
"Now backed by the FDA, we are posting a warning label to the food industry: set the labels straight," Blumenthal said. "Big Food has been feeding big lies to consumers about nutritional value. Consumers can no longer stomach deceptive labels that contribute to our nation's obesity endemic.
"The FDA will be a powerful enforcement partner against deceptive food labeling that prevents consumers from making informed food choices for their families. At a time when healthcare efforts rightly focus on prevention of obesity and malnutrition, false and misleading labels may derail, destroy and delay such laudable national goals.
"My office is investigating the Smart Choices program to determine the research and reasoning behind a program that promotes fat-saturated mayonnaise and sugar-studded cereals as nutritional smart choices. This investigation follows a long list of false food-label enforcement actions by my office that have already compelled truth and change. We will continue to monitor the market for faux food facts that blur or block the truth about nutrition."
As part of his Smart Choices investigation, Blumenthal has requested information from Smart Choices Program, Inc., the organizations which administer the program (NSF International and American Society for Nutrition), and major food manufacturers whose products bear the Smart Choices label, including Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, Inc. and General Mills, Inc.
Blumenthal's investigation seeks details about the consumer research and selection criteria driving the Smart Choices program; the process and fees involved in administering the program; and any payments or developmental role that major food manufacturers might have provided for the program.