Labeling problems, the FDA and Food Allergies
If you have food allergies, diabetes, are watching your weight, or are on any special diet for any reason odds are you are a label reader. For some of us, our lives or the lives of a loved one depend on it. We read labels to make sure that we aren't feeding ourselves or our families something that could potentially harm us (or lead to death in some cases). For the most part, we have to trust that food manufacturers and the FDA are doing their jobs and labeling the products as accurately as they can. No one is perfect and nothing is full proof. There is no guarantee that every item in every store is labeled 100% accurately. BUT most of them should be and if a discrepancy is found, it should be taken care of right away. And if a food manufacturer is found to be knowingly mislabeling products or doing so "accidentally" on a continual basis swift action should be taken. That's how it works, right? Wrong...
This article from US News and World Report, With Faulty Food Labeling, Who's Minding The Store, has me hopping mad. Here we go again with excuse after excuse as to why they can't label our food properly. As someone who reads labels for food allergies, I know that prepackaged foods are not the healthiest way to go. We try to stay away from them as much as we can. But I don't have my own farm so I do have to rely on food manufacturers to provide much of what comes into my house, whether it is fresh, frozen or canned. I expect to get what I pay for and nothing more (or less as the case may be). The article states "DNA studies done late last year by two New York City high school students found that one out of six products in their own kitchens had labeling that was flat-out wrong. This included cheese claiming to be made from sheep's milk that was actually plain old cow's milk and caviar that was Mississippi paddlefish instead of sturgeon, as advertised". I find it really hard to believe that the manufacturers of those two items were unable to tell the difference between what was labeled and what actually went into the products. If the manufacturers don't know, then how are we expected to?
This article from US News and World Report, With Faulty Food Labeling, Who's Minding The Store, has me hopping mad. Here we go again with excuse after excuse as to why they can't label our food properly. As someone who reads labels for food allergies, I know that prepackaged foods are not the healthiest way to go. We try to stay away from them as much as we can. But I don't have my own farm so I do have to rely on food manufacturers to provide much of what comes into my house, whether it is fresh, frozen or canned. I expect to get what I pay for and nothing more (or less as the case may be). The article states "DNA studies done late last year by two New York City high school students found that one out of six products in their own kitchens had labeling that was flat-out wrong. This included cheese claiming to be made from sheep's milk that was actually plain old cow's milk and caviar that was Mississippi paddlefish instead of sturgeon, as advertised". I find it really hard to believe that the manufacturers of those two items were unable to tell the difference between what was labeled and what actually went into the products. If the manufacturers don't know, then how are we expected to?
In our country food allergies, diabetes and obesity are on the rise. If we are supposed to be controlling these diseases by diet, then we need our food to be accurately labeled for. Maybe part of the reason these diseases are on the rise is because there is so much "mystery" surrounding what actually is in our food.
Have you or someone you love been made ill by a mislabeled product? If we can't trust product labeling, how do we feed our families safely? How can we get the FDA or the food industry to supply us with safe food? Or are we as consumers just expecting too much?
For more on product labeling issues see:
MSU Launches Initiative to Combat Food Fraud - Passing one food off for another is not only cheating, but it can be deadly to those with food allergies.
A Closer Look at Gluten Free Labeling - From Living Without Magazine: Is it really gluten free or has it slipped through the loophole?
How To Report a Mislabel - From Living Without Magazine
Mislabeled Products Potentially Dangerous for Those with Food Aller... - WEGO Health blog post
Tags: , , FDA, allergies, asthma, food, food allergies, labeling, labeling laws, manufacturers", mislabeling
© 2012 Created by Susan M..
