Thread: Food doesn't match label hype (Article)

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Food doesn't match label hype

Sugar-coated claims rarely check out, federal tests reveal

By Sarah Schmidt, Postmedia NewsSeptember 3, 2010

Six out of 10 candies, baked goods and breads at the grocery store
overstated claims such as "sugar free," "low in fat" or "100-per-cent
whole wheat" to convince shoppers to indulge in a treat or pay a premium,
newly released government inspection test results show.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency tested 252 candy items such as
chocolate bars, soft candies and fruit snacks for the accuracy of their
composition claims, and found 159 confectionary products failed to live
up to their billing.

The record for breads and baked goods, such as cookies and muffins, that
claim to be low in fat or to contain certain grains wasn't much better,
with 122 out of 208 -- or 59 per cent -- not living up to their
composition claims.

Of 161 snack foods pitched as low in sodium or other composition claims,
49 per cent, or 79 items, violated the rules. These products included
items such as potato chips, nuts and mixed snacks.

In addition to negative claims pertaining to the absence or non-addition
of a substance, other examples of composition claims include "100-per-
cent pure" or words such as "genuine," "true" or "real."

According to minutes concerning CFIA's Fair Labelling Practices Program,
released to Postmedia News under access to information laws, these
product categories were targeted between 2006 and 2010 because inspectors
suspected compliance problems.

CFIA did not release any brand details, but says it works with companies
to educate them about the rules and bring them into compliance. The
agency also has the authority to issue warning letters, remove products
from store shelves or prosecute a company.

Consumer advocate Bill Jeffery, of the Ottawa-based Centre for Science in
the Public Interest, called the test results "remarkable," saying
Canadians "depend on nutritional labelling to choose healthier products."

The good news for calorie-counters is the test results show it's not
uncommon for confectionary and baked goods to overstate the net quantity,
meaning the grams on the label are higher than what is in the package.
The products included pre-packaged products and items packaged at the
grocery store.

More than one in five candy products tested for net quantity -- 20 out of
94 -- overstated the amount in the packaging, meaning the grams on the
label were higher than what was in the package. Three in 10 baked goods
or breads -- 39 out of 134 -- overstated the amount in the package.

Problems with overstating net quantity for snack foods were less severe,
with seven out of 109 products tested providing less than what consumers
thought they were buying.

CFIA's ground meat project for 2009/10 also tested products for net
quantity, as well as any mislabelling of meat species and fat content.

Consumers pay a premium for lean or extra lean ground beef, but the
agency's fat testing results showed 20 per cent of products pitched as
lean -- five out of 25 products -- violated the rules, meaning the fat
content did not meat the standard for lean meat.

Foreign species testing found three out of 68 ground meat products -- 4.4
per cent -- weren't exactly what they seemed to be, meaning meat
advertised as beef could contain another meat product such as pork.

Thirty ground meat items were tested for net quantity, and two were
short-changing the consumer, the results show.

Olive oil products were also tested in 2009/10 for adulteration, and the
results show progress in this area.

Three out of 53 products inspected showed the presence of other oils not
permitted by the standard, indicating extra virgin oil was watered down
by another product.

In 2007, CFIA found that 15 of 45 samples of extra virgin olive oil
pulled from store shelves were found to have been blended with lower-
priced sunflower, canola or soybean oils.

Another project last year targeting fruit spreads and juices to test
claims such as "no added sugar," "pure" and highlighted ingredients, was
suspended after the program underwent a restructuring, the internal
records show.

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