Are super foods really super?
It’s time to taste-test some rules for “functional” foods, federal officials declared Wednesday.
These are foods that pack a special punch — or so their labels suggest.
Odwalla’s Wellness promises that “Earth’s wisdom comes alive” in the juice, echinacea blend.
Elements’ Siberian Cherry contains ginseng, which the company says could “revitalize the body.”
As enhanced foods have proliferated, critics have grown alarmed, enough so that federal regulators will give everyone a chance to weigh in at a public hearing.
This could be the bureaucratic equivalent of empty calories or it could fuel a move toward stricter labeling standards.
“We believe that it would be in the best interest of public health to begin a dialogue with industry, consumers and other stakeholders regarding the regulation of these products,” the Food and Drug Administration said.
Some consumers say folks at the capitol are wasting their time and citizens’ money.
“I can’t believe they get paid for that.
It does influence my choice a little, like, ‘Do I want enlightenment or eternal youth today?’
Like I could attain either for a buck 75,” Jaswinder Singh, 19, of Modesto said sarcastically.
“I wish our politicians would get back to work.”
Functional foods have supposedly beneficial ingredients added.
It could be as simple as orange juice fortified with calcium.
It could be as esoteric as Trader Joe’s Green Tea with St. John’s wort.
Functional food sales increased from an estimated $11.3billion in 1995 to $16.2 billion in 1999, noted a 2000 study by the General Accounting Office.
Propelled by savvy marketing and health-conscious baby boomers, functional food sales were projected to reach $49 billion by 2010.
But some consumers buy for simpler reasons.
“I buy them because they’re refreshing,” said Doug McKinnon, 27, of Modesto.
Carl Sacco, co-owner of Cornucopia Natural Foods in Modesto, also is skeptical of the products.
“You have to look at what else is hidden in there.
How much sugar is there, and what are the amounts of ginkgo?”
“When people start claiming amazing results, that’s when you have to start questioning.
Problem is, there’s no official definition of “functional food.”
Claiming that soy protein may reduce the risk of heart disease requires formal FDA review.
However, describing Odwalla’s Think Drink with gingko biloba, which is no longer listed on the company’s Web site, as a beverage “with two brainboosting botanicals used …to stimulate thinking centers of the mind” does not.
Critics worry that this ambiguity opens a regulatory loophole.
Federal agencies “provide limited assistance to consumers in making informed choices and do little to protect them against inaccurate and misleading claims,” the GAO, now known as the Government Accountability Office, warned in its 2000 study.
A petition filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition and health advocacy group, cited the Odwalla and Snapple drinks, among others, as the kinds of functional foods that need more oversight.
Neither company could be reached for comment Wednesday on the proposals for tighter regulation.
As a general rule, though, industry officials are leery of new regulations.
“Functional foods are just that: foods,” Stacey Zawel of the Grocery Manufacturers Association declared after the 2000 GAO study.
“They already have to meet stringent food-safety regulations.”
Companies don’t need FDA approval before marketing new functional foods if the ingredients are considered safe.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest is urging regulators to require prior approval.
-Adam
Claims of super foods come under scrutiny (Modesto Bee)
WASHINGTON — It’s time to taste-test some rules for “functional” foods, federal officials declared Wednesday.
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