European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 02, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse New York time draw no Charles by Lisa Belkin new York times in 1956. The Story goes Estes Kefauver. Thena candidate Lor the democratic presidential nomination stopped at the supermarket and bought a packaged Cherry pie. The picture on the package showed a slice slotted with cherries. The pie inside the Box. However was mostly crust. Furious the senator from Tennessee introduced the first comprehensive legislation against deceptive food Labelling. This month nearly 30 years later. Sen. Howard m. Melzo Baum a Ohio is expected to introduce a Bill expanding that legislation by requiring that the sodium potassium and fat Content of All foods be listed on the Label. How can anybody resist the right of All americans to know what s in the food they buy Metze Naburn said in a recent interview. Right now they do not know in the decades Between these two events there have been numerous Channes in food Labelling requirements. There is a lot More Inlo Malion on today s labels said Ronald Brewington. Director of the food standards a d Labelling division of the . Department of agriculture which reviews 120.000 labels each month. The argument now is Between whether there should be More or whether Itiat is there is too some of the line print is required by Law. The departments of agriculture and Commerce the food and drug administration and the Federal Trade commission Are among the agencies that have a hand in regulating labels. There Are rules against misleading photos on boxes of food requirements for the disclosure of ingredients and limits on the use of descriptive words such As lean and Low where there Are no rules Many manufacturers have voluntarily increased the amount of information on labels. Consumers Are asking Lor More Reading More carefully and manufacturers Are responding said Joseph Conoscenti. Brand manager of spices and extracts for Mccormick spice which last year changed the name of its Lemon and Pepper seasoning to Lemon and Pepper seasoning Salt in an attempt to reflect the product s True ingredients. More information however does not mean less confusion particularly because food labels Are not always what they seem. There is for example the matter of definitions the food and drug administration has never developed one for words such As natural so a food can be called natural and still contain artificial ingredients. Then there is the question of serving size it can be anything the manufacturer chooses and the absence of an Industry Standard makes it impossible to compare the number of calories in different brands. Some packages proclaim the absence of ingredients that were not there in the first place. Orange juice for example which does not need preservatives is often labelled now. No preservatives to give the appearance of improvement. Others fail to mention ingredients that Are included with the result that specific names of food colourings and other additives Are often Tell off labels. The confusion Sterns from manufacturers and Consumers looking at labels in different ways the whole Issue is what is a Tood Label and who owns it said Rodney e. Leonard executive director of the Community and nutrition Institute a nonprofit nonpartisan education and advocacy group. The food manufacturer sees it As a billboard to try to convince the consumer to buy the product and the consumer has begun to look fit it As a source of information As to what to avoid Leonard said. No question about it. There Are competing interests and there Are always going to the re Luree in this marketing tug of War is the Federal government specifically the agriculture department which oversees meat and poultry and Ihu food and drug administration which oversees All other foods. Our role is to make sure that what is on the Label is truthful and provides an accurate description said Robert l. Stencer director of the Fra s division of regulation policy. A Label should not be an today there Are a handful of requirements common to All food labels each must contain the product s name the manufacturer s name and address and a list of ingredients in descending order by weight. But nutrition information is required Only if the manufacturer makes a nutrition claim such As Low or in vitamins or minerals Are added. Among the Labelling questions on the government s Agenda whether to allow Cereal makers to promote their products As useful in reducing the risk of cancer whether to require the inclusion of sodium cholesterol sulfite and fat Content on All labels whether Trace amounts of alcohol Are acceptable in what is labelled alcohol free manufacturers complain that the government issues too Many rules. There is too much information required already said Stanley Sacharow author with Rogert c. Griffin of principles of food packaging Avi publishing inc., Westport conn., 1980 and executive director of the packaging group which advises food manufacturers on package design. If you clutter the Label too much then you turn the consumer off. The food becomes a pharmaceutical it loses All gustatory consumer groups by contrast charge that the government issues too Lew regulations or not the right ones. The result is a game of sorts with one group wrapping its message around the requirements and the other seeking information Between the lines. If this is a game said Michael Jacobson executive director of the Center for science in the Public interest which has made improved nutrition Labelling a kind of crusade Consumers Are the first potential source of confusion is the drat place most Consumers look when choosing a product the name. Periodically companies change product names to create a different image. The Kellogg company for example in 1983 changed sugar frosted flakes Cereal to frosted flakes and sugar smacks to Honey smacks although the Center for science in the Public interest contends that both products still contain the 50 percent sugar and Corn syrup that they had before the names were changed. Similarly. . Post s super sugar Crisp Cereal which is More than 50 percent Page 14 the stars and stripes
