New graphic warrnings on cigarette packages

This week the Food and Drug Administration released new graphic warning labels to be displayed on cigarette packages in an effort to discourage smokers from lighting up. The new labels, the first major redesign of cigarette packaging in 25 years, were made possible by a 2009 law which gave the government and the FDA authority to regulate tobacco. Other nations have used even more grisly images than the new FDA labels for years, and their impact on smoking rates in those nations has been somewhat difficult to assess. It will be interesting to see the impact of these labels on smoking rates in this country in 2012, when the labels will be required, and beyond.

How do food companies define health food?

The Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning to food manufacturers about the criteria they are using to label foods "healthy." The FDA is concerned that too many healthy labels without clear criteria for defining what is healthy may confuse consumers. And some obviously unhealthy foods have been defined as a healthy using the manufacturers own standards.

The article about the warning made me chuckle, if only because I immediately thought of my least favorite commercial on television right now. I yelled at the television the first time I saw this commercial. Something to the effect of "You've got to be kidding me!" That's right, Kellogg's is trying to market Froot Loops as a healthy food. "They make your tummy happy." Sure, fiber is good, but I don't think health is Froot Loops best selling point.




What do you think? Does the FDA need to step in and set standards for what manufacturers call healthy food?