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A nutritional ‘green tick’ labelling system in the US has been disrupted after a controversy over potentially misleading information and the withdrawal of support by a number of large food brands.
The Smart Choices Program, whose labelsare supposed to serve as ‘nutrition guidance’ to help costumers ‘make smarter food and beverage choices’, is being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration over its criteria for inclusion.
Unilever, PepsiCo and Kellogg’s have announced that they will no longer carry the label on their products. Other companies, including Kraft Foods, have said they will continue to use the labels on products currently carrying them.
The system was launched through funding by a number of food companies, who between them contributed $1.5m to develop the criteria. Concerns over the inclusion of sweetened cereals and ‘low-fat’ ice-cream bars, however, have drawn public criticism of the scheme’s value.
Smart Choices has now postponed operations until further guidance on food labelling is published by the Food and Drug Administration, a move expected within a year.
Mike Hughes, chair of the program, said: ‘We continue to believe the Smart Choices Program is an important step in the right direction.’
The Smart Choices Program, whose labelsare supposed to serve as ‘nutrition guidance’ to help costumers ‘make smarter food and beverage choices’, is being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration over its criteria for inclusion.
Unilever, PepsiCo and Kellogg’s have announced that they will no longer carry the label on their products. Other companies, including Kraft Foods, have said they will continue to use the labels on products currently carrying them.
The system was launched through funding by a number of food companies, who between them contributed $1.5m to develop the criteria. Concerns over the inclusion of sweetened cereals and ‘low-fat’ ice-cream bars, however, have drawn public criticism of the scheme’s value.
Smart Choices has now postponed operations until further guidance on food labelling is published by the Food and Drug Administration, a move expected within a year.
Mike Hughes, chair of the program, said: ‘We continue to believe the Smart Choices Program is an important step in the right direction.’
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