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M. Spencer Green/AP
Sara Lee Makes Amends for False Nutritional Claims
July 25, 2008 08:00 AM
Food manufacturer Sara Lee will change the “whole grain” specifications on bread packaging, making it clear that the loaf contains only 30 percent whole grains.
30-Second Summary
Food manufacturer Sara Lee will modify the label of its “Soft and Smooth” bread in a settlement with the Center for Science (CSPI) in the Public Interest.
The CSPI threatened to sue Sara Lee for false health claims last December, noting that phrasing like, “‘made with whole grain’, ‘good source of whole grain’ and ‘now with 25% more whole grain’ are “intended to deceive the consumer into thinking the bread is a whole-grain bread, when in fact it is not.”
A Sara Lee spokeswoman responded: “We adamantly deny allegations made by CSPI. We are proud of the 10g of whole grains per serving this transitional bread offers our consumers.”
Once grains are refined, much of their nutritional value is lost. Companies often make foods with enriched or refined flour because the shelf life is longer and the consistency is fluffier.
In 2001, rising levels of obesity in America caused some dieticians to tout the value of whole grains in health and weight loss. In response, food manufacturers like General Mills and Sara Lee added “whole grain” claims to their packaging.
Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, stated, “The food industry is notorious for making nutrition claims even when reality is far removed from the appearance, and whole grains is a classic example. Sara Lee, General Mills (GIS), and others will make small changes in the food and make them appear to be big.”
The CSPI threatened to sue Sara Lee for false health claims last December, noting that phrasing like, “‘made with whole grain’, ‘good source of whole grain’ and ‘now with 25% more whole grain’ are “intended to deceive the consumer into thinking the bread is a whole-grain bread, when in fact it is not.”
A Sara Lee spokeswoman responded: “We adamantly deny allegations made by CSPI. We are proud of the 10g of whole grains per serving this transitional bread offers our consumers.”
Once grains are refined, much of their nutritional value is lost. Companies often make foods with enriched or refined flour because the shelf life is longer and the consistency is fluffier.
In 2001, rising levels of obesity in America caused some dieticians to tout the value of whole grains in health and weight loss. In response, food manufacturers like General Mills and Sara Lee added “whole grain” claims to their packaging.
Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, stated, “The food industry is notorious for making nutrition claims even when reality is far removed from the appearance, and whole grains is a classic example. Sara Lee, General Mills (GIS), and others will make small changes in the food and make them appear to be big.”
Headline Link: Sara Lee to clarify whole grain claims
Food manufacturer Sara Lee recently agreed to change the labeling of its “Soft and Smooth” bread labeled “whole grain” to make it clear that the bread contains only 30 percent whole grains. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a D.C.-based consumer advocacy group, “had threatened to sue Sara Lee in December, saying that the ‘whole grain goodness’ sign splashed on Soft & Smooth packaging was misleading because the bread was made primarily of refined white flour,” BusinessWeek reports.
Source: BusinessWeek
Background: Whole grain claims not the whole truth
When the CSPI announced its intention to sue Sara Lee, it told the company that “claims such as ‘made with whole grain,’ ‘good source of whole grain' and ‘now with 25% more whole grain’ are ‘intended to deceive the consumer into thinking the bread is a whole-grain bread, when in fact it is not.’” Sara Lee countered that such items are “nutritionally transitional” products aimed at increasing consumers’ whole grain consumption, “without a radical change in taste and consistency.”
Source: Food Navigator
Reference: Defining 'whole grain' and its benefits
The Food and Drug Administration publishes its standards for whole grain foods and the criteria for manufacturers labeling foods as “whole grain.” According to the FDA, “Manufacturers can make factual statements about whole grains on the label of their products such as ‘100% whole grain’ … or ‘10 grams of whole grains’ … provided that the statements are not false or misleading … and do not imply a particular level of the ingredient, i.e., ‘high’ or ‘excellent source.’”
Source: FDA
According to the International Food Information Council (IFIC), “A whole grain consists of the entire grain seed of a plant. This seed, also known as the kernel, is made up of three key parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.” The IFIC notes that, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), “only 35 percent of Americans age 12 and over met their total grain recommendation; 4 percent met the current whole grain recommendation.”
Source: International Food Information Council
Related Topic: Other misleading “health food” claims
A savvy New York mom had a package of “Pirate’s Booty” corn snack tested in 2002, believing that her daughter’s snack tasted too good to have the low-fat content it claimed. Lab reports showed that the snack contained “8 grams of fat and 147 calories—a far cry from the 2.5 grams of fat and 128 calories the package claimed,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
Also in 2002, The New York Times exposed the false health claims of two popular frozen yogurt chains, CremaLita and Tasti D-Lite. The “low-calorie, fat-free frozen dessert (the substance is neither ice cream nor yogurt) … has far more calories and often a higher fat content than advertised, according to tests …” The tests showed that samples of vanilla and the flavor of the day, “provided two to four times more calories per serving than the stores advertise in their signs, ranging from a low of 98 calories for 3.9 ounces of vanilla to a high of 241 for 6.8 ounces of pistachio chocolate.”
Source: The New York Times
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