The Vancouver Sun, December 1, 2011 Sarah Schmidt, Postmedia News
CANADA – The federal government has abruptly stopped testing grocery-store product labels for exaggerated nutrition claims and unproven health claims, Postmedia News has learned.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency put the sampling program “on hold indefinitely due to budgetary constraints” after test results from previous years showed widespread problems with food labels on store shelves, according to internal records released under access to information.
The controversial decision was taken just days before the 2011/12 fiscal year started in April, minutes of a meeting …

August 10, 2011, Yale University
Nutrition-related health claims on children’s cereals are often misinterpreted by parents, causing them to infer that products with health claims are more nutritious overall despite actual nutrient quality, finds a study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. The study, published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, shows that additional government regulation of front-of-package labeling is needed to protect consumers.
Through an online survey, researchers asked parents with children between the ages of 2 and 11 to view images of actual box …

August 11, 2011, NBC, Scott Beaulieu
Finding healthy food for you kids can be hard enough, especially when they’re reaching for their favorite sugar-filled snacks.  But a new study from Yale researchers says the packaging on some foods isn’t making things any easier.
The university’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that parents often misinterpret health claims on children’s cereals, assuming they are more nutritious than they actually are.  For example, many products use words like “whole grain,” “organic,” “supports your child’s immunity.”
In their study, the Yale researchers surveyed parents …

August 6, Patch, Michelle Fiscus
Most of us have heard enough about nutrition to pick healthy foods from the long lineup of options at the grocery store. Buzz words such as “more fiber,” “reduced fat” and “low sodium” are brightly displayed on box tops. We feel good making those purchases, assuming we are doing the best for our family and ourselves.
But just because a food contains the nutrient or vitamin of the week doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you. Food companies are capitalizing on every health craze by fortifying their …

CSPI September 27, 2010
Ben & Jerry’s has agreed to phase out its use of “All Natural” claims on labels on ice creams and frozen yogurts that contain alkalized cocoa, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, or other ingredients that aren’t natural.
The move amicably resolves a dispute arising from a letter that the Center for Science in the Public Interest sent last month to Ben & Jerry’s parent company, Unilever. The letter said that at least 48 products were improperly labeled.
“Ben & Jerry’s is doing the right thing by taking the …

The New York Times, William Neuman, July 14, 2010
According to a recent Nestlé ad campaign aimed at parents, a drink called Boost Kid Essentials was so good for children that it could keep them from getting colds and missing school.
But on Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission said the ads were deceptive and announced that Nestlé had agreed to stop making the claims.
The move was the second in two months aimed at deceptive advertising by a major food manufacturer for products meant for children. A commission official said that the agency …

More than a century after President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act, deception is still a far too popular marketing tool for food makers.
READ the original article on Kellogs claims here.
The Federal Trade Commission barred Kellogg’s last year from running ads saying Mini-Wheats are “clinically shown to improve kids’ attentiveness by 20 percent.” To claim “benefits to cognitive health, process or function provided by any cereal or any morning food or snack food,” was a no-no, unless the claims were true. But the F.T.C.’s order covered only …

Food Navigator, Jess Halliday, 23 October 2009
Italians are unswayed by healthy messages and images on foods, whereas the Finnish respond to medical pictures and British consumers are more likely to buy foods making even a weak health claim, indicates new research.
The new European health claims regulation governs the format and content of claims made on products in the EU. But the authors of the new study, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Food Quality and Preference, note that food companies can still choose what claims to focus …