Skip navigation
Subscribe to Packaging Digest
RSS
Reprints/License
Print
Email

FDA urged to act on possible fruit and vegetable labeling abuses

Consumer organization says "Fresh," "Vine Ripened" and other terms are being misused.

-- Packaging Digest, 12/16/2009 1:12:49 PM

tomatoes, food packaging, labelingThe National Consumers League (NCL) has sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging renewal of its efforts to prevent consumers from being misled by deceptive labeling of processed fruit and vegetable products.

Nineteen years ago, NCL persuaded the FDA to take a firm stand on prohibiting the use of the term "fresh" on any fruit or vegetable product that is reconstituted or remanufactured from concentrate. At that time, NCL asked that the use of the term "made from concentrate" or "reconstituted" be placed prominently on the front label of these products. FDA issued policy guidance designed to prevent the continued labeling misrepresentation of these products and took action against Ragu "Fresh Italian" Pasta Sauce and Citrus Hill "Fresh Choice" Orange Juice.

Since that time, according to Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of NCL, "the marketplace has become littered once again with false and misleading labels for products, for example, tomato products that are reconstituted from industrial tomato concentrate, pretending to be 'made from fresh tomatoes,' 'packed in season,' or 'packed from vine ripened tomatoes.'"

"The FDA guidance is unlawfully being ignored in the marketplace as evidenced by a proliferation of misleading claims by clever marketers," added Greenberg. "Consumers are paying 'fresh' and 'vine ripened' prices for 'from concentrate' products." The following are some examples of these misleading claims:

  --  Hunt's Tomato Sauce: "Packed full of premium, vine-ripened tomatoes."
      This claim is reinforced with label vignettes of whole, vine-ripened
      tomatoes. In fact, the Hunt's product is remanufactured from tomato
      concentrate. Hunt's has substituted "vine-ripened" for "fresh" in its
      label claim to avoid FDA's guidance.

  --  Del Monte Cocktail Sauce: claims "made from California Vine-ripened
      tomatoes," with a picture displayed under the claim. It is made from
      concentrate.

  --  "Contadina picks the Freshest Tomatoes" is claimed on labels of
      Contadina Pizza Sauce, made from tomato concentrate and tap water.

In the letter to FDA, NCL asked that it issue a new guidance to industry setting forth the FDA's enforcement policy regarding appropriate use of labeling claims that express or imply that a tomato product was packed or made from fresh tomatoes, and to enforce that policy rigorously.

NCL also asked that all fruit and vegetable products reconstituted or remanufactured from concentrate be required to disclose this prominently on the label's front panel. Greenberg stated, "Such a declaration would provide information that consumers need and want to make informed purchase decisions and would close out the clever word play."

SOURCE: National Consumers League


Photo by frostnova / Flickr.com



.

RSS
Reprints/License
Print
Email
Talkback
Related Content

No related content found.

»MORE

Canon Resource Center

Featured Company


Most Recent Resources

Advertisement
Related Content
  • Blogs
  • Photos

Tom Marin

Building Brands

Tom Marin, Brands & Branding Editor, GAM
April 23, 2010
Let’s just say when you see a great ad it’s tough not to smile
Cargill had a big task in front of them when they set out to create advertising...
More

Dennis Salazar

Common Sense and Sustainability

Dennis Salazar
April 21, 2010
Mainstream Media Not Very Sustainable on the Environment
With another Earth Day upon us and especially with this being the 40th anniversary...
More

Tom Marin

Building Brands

Tom Marin, Brands & Branding Editor, GAM
April 16, 2010
You’ll never look at dinner the same way
Most of the blogs that I write fall into two camps. They are either how to...
More

David Bellm

Eye on Packaging

David Bellm
April 15, 2010
Wine packaging: The rare case where organic brands are cheaper
Organic foods and drinks cost more. That’s a given, right? Not so fast....
More

VIEW ALL BLOGS RSS

Advertisement
PEI2010news_mw
About Us   |   Advertising Info   |   Site Map   |   Contact Us   |   FREE Subscriptions   |   RSS
 © 2010 Canon Communications LLC. All rights reserved.
Use of this Web site is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy