don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

Anyone who dines out might occasionally wonder about the presence of UFO’s and even UAO’s (unidentified amphibian objects) in his or her stew, soup, burger or other menu items. However, we all have more confidence in packaged foods, in part because they come with labels that identify exactly what is in the product. Right? Well, maybe.

Many people count calories or stress over product ingredients, or the number of fat or carbohydrate, sugar or salt grams or the percentages of something else in packaged goods. These folks are very serious about heeding the advice of dieticians and other experts to read labels and otherwise rely upon the “Nutritional Facts” panels and similar labels for accurate representations of what, exactly, varied food products contain. Doing so is one tried and true way to support healthy dining habits, right? Well, bad news -- new evidence suggests that the “Nutritional Facts” panels on food labels that we’ve come to rely on are not always so reliable. Can you believe it? Isn’t that a shock?

Using Florida’s public records laws to gain access to government records about product testing by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a newspaper reporter discovered that three out of four diet products tested contained erroneous label information. A South Florida Sun Sentinel story (2 September) revealed about 1,000 inaccurate labels on varied food products. A sample of these errors include the following:

*Dr. Atkins Chocolate Mocha Bar. Label claim -- 3.5 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Test findings -- 19.7 grams of carbohydrates.

*Low Carb World’s vanilla éclair. Label claim -- 2 grams of fat and 2.8 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Test findings -- 17 grams of fat and 35.5 grams of carbohydrates.

*Breads for Life hot dog and hamburger buns. Label claim -- no sugar. Test findings -- 3.5 grams of sugar per serving.

*Health Valley “fat-free” granola and “Healthy Chips” cookies. Test findings -- more than 1 gram of fat.

*Delray Bakery, where a variety of products are sold with the claim “no sugar.” Test findings -- 17 different tests found 2 to 19 grams of sugar per serving - the equivalent of a 1/2-teaspoon to nearly 5 teaspoons of sugar.

The good news is that few major brands distributed nationwide were found to be or are believed to be mislabeled. Big companies, thank goodness, are cautious about accuracy in order to safeguard brand loyalty and consumer trust. However, there is a lot of leeway granted, in that federal law allows most products a 20 percent variance from the label claims. This means a product listed at 200 calories can legally have 240 and be considered “accurate.” Oddly, many of the regional foods that do mislead are of the specialty variety that cost more than other foods. In such cases, you may or may not get more or less of what you pay more for. An official in Florida’s testing program went on record to the effect that branding is often “systematic and intentionally misleading.”

What lessons might a self-managing consumer draw from these findings found in a small regional newspaper? Here are my own conclusions:

*It’s best if you are not overly focused on or needful of accurate label information. If you are highly fit and your diet is sound, you probably don’t need to focus so closely on labels in the first place. If you do, rely more on national products.

*Recognize that few states test food products to see if contents match the statements on the label. Even in Florida, which does testing, not much is done to discourage inaccurate labels, other than the sending of a letter of notification, which may or may not lead to label revisions. On a national level, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not done a label survey for five years.

*Be skeptical of all labeling claims, particularly of so-called “diet” products, which are inherently misleading anyway. The Dr. Atkins “Low-Carb Food Bar” that promised two grams of carbohydrates contained 18 grams - an inaccuracy of 810 percent. In its defense, the company, weakly in my view, argued that carbohydrates not absorbed by the body shouldn’t be counted!

*Be especially vigilant if you visit South Florida! It seems this area is ground zero for food frauds relating to the low-carb mania. One commentator suggested that everybody and his brother are producing so-called low-carb products in garages!

As always, bemused skepticism is recommended concerning the veracity of labels, especially on local products not subject to reliable testing protocols. The best course of action is to free yourself from concerns about labels entirely, given the excellent quality of your diet and health status due to exceptional fitness levels and an overall healthy lifestyle.

Be well. Look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of nutrition. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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