Ohio AG Joins Fight for Better Food Label Standards

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray this week joined 11 other state attorneys general in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposal to make food labels more meaningful to consumers.

In a joint letter to the FDA, the attorneys general cite a recent multi-state investigation into the popular "Smart Choices" program that revealed that some products labeled by the program as a "healthy" choice actually had large amounts of not-so-healthy ingredients.

"As Ohio consumers strive to save money, it shouldn't cost them their health," said Attorney General Richard Cordray. "Consumers have a right to be given clear and factual information to help them make smart decisions when it comes to nutrition for their families. Deceptive and confusing product labeling can hinder healthy eating and actually promote problems such as obesity. The FDA must act now to embrace full disclosure in labeling."

The letter, which was sent to the FDA late yesterday, points to a multi-state investigation into the food industry-run "Smart Choices" program to illustrate the need for revamped labeling guidelines. According to the letter, the investigation revealed that the industry group's labeling system took into consideration important nutrients in a product while altogether ignoring the unhealthy amounts of other ingredients. Consumers who saw the green check mark associated with "Smart Choices" were led to believe that the product was "healthy," when in reality it could be loaded with unhealthy amounts of ingredients like sugar.

In the letter, the attorneys generals request the FDA to consider the following:

• Transparency of underlying standards. Any national front-of-package (FOP) labeling system should be based on publicly-available standards, including an updated version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, containing the best available nutritional criteria (including criteria for added sugar and portion size that take into account different ages and body sizes).
• Applicability. FOP labels should apply to as wide a range of foods as possible and the authorization or approval of use of the applicable FOP labeling should not be dependent upon payment by food manufacturers, although a reasonable licensing fee may be proper.
• Understandability. FOP labels should be readily understandable by people of varying educational levels, based on the best consumer research.
• Helpfulness. FOP labels should be designed to actually affect buying decisions in favor of healthy foods, based on the best consumer research. Understandability is not enough if the label does not change consumer behavior in a positive way.
• Uniformity. A national, uniform FOP label should be the sole nutritional label on the front of food packages. Competing graphics or messages may cause confusion and undermine the recognizability and credibility of the governmental label. The need for a single label should be documented by consumer response testing.
• Consistency of health and nutrition claims. An otherwise effective FOP label can be undercut by marginal health and nutritional FOP claims. An FOP labeling system should ensure that any such claims are confined to other parts of the product package.

Participating in the letter were the attorneys general from Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont.

The "Smart Choices" Program, launched in October 2008, was developed by food industry leaders to create a front-of-package labeling system to assist consumers in choosing "healthy" foods at first glance. The group adopted the green check-mark as a symbol of nutrition. According to the group's website, operations were suspended in October 2009.