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Food mainstream crossed with active lifestyle and well being - Where does it end?
Mainstream food manufacturers and retailers are increasingly utilizing health and nutritional claims from supplemental origins. Where does it end? Does this make the claims less valuable? Will every product on the shelf eventually have a claim?
6 answers
End? Never!...not that its a consumer-driven market but in the sense of the over scheme of things....its simply merchandising; good 'ole product marketing, branding and for bottom line sales. My point of view is backed by my life real world, working career in the hospitality food service of over 25 years, 20 of which vested as a chef, management and contractor while working p/t as a retail product merchandiser. During which time I opened 2 brick & motar retail store fronts that I owned & operated 10 years with my wife. Now we're on our third business concept-Catering & Personal Chef services and i still hold a part time job as a retail product merchandiser. My whole point is I've seen alot from the owner/retailer/product side of the house and anything that is on a product, labeling, ect. serves the purpose of selling that product. Anything else on a product serves a logistical purpose to safety, legal or regulated requirements mandated. I'm not getting into FDA reg's as that applies to certain aspects only of certain foods of certain natures besides the generic USDA generic information labeling.
The specific trends are meant to entice, create that desire to buy the product-basic advertising. And the disclaimer is that nothing contained herein is meant to diagnose, treat any illness, disease, ect. Besides things like number one, the best, guaranteed and all that really means what? Besides as you know, we're in an information age with Google & everything at your fingertips along with the current trend of sustainability, eco-friendly green, organic, natural, certified, farmers market, farm to fork, free range, natural, wild caught, non-gmo, and we can go on forever....bottom line the US Gov regulated very little of the merchandising, they are more into licensing, regulating and taxing and looking at how the gov. handled tobacco, don't believe that they even have a handle on the rest.
This is unfortunately true and many of the claims are false and misleading. I worked a little with the FDA and FTC on qualifications to put the word healthy on products but the politics is very hard to beat. The large food companies have the big money and lobbyists and connections. We need much stricter labeling laws or the trend will not only continue but expand and the claims will become basically worthless. At this point we can only push it with real scientific evidence on social media to fight this trend.
Zeke - the concept of health claims may not be the question. The major issue is the basis for making the claims and authentication of the claims. Most current claims are not based on science and there is no verification or authentication system to confirm these claims.
Zeke - there are systems available, but they're fragmented. We have developed a system for grocery stores that involves testing for local farmers.
Food manufacturers can make claims all day long as long as there are guidelines that are enforced regarding what can be printed on a label. As a Nutritionist, my focus has always been, and will continue to be, on the focus on eating WHOLE foods as opposed to any food that comes in a package with a label. It is the processed foods that create more acid in the body and contribute to disease. Getting back to basics of eating whole foods that do not come in a package should still be emphasized.