The FDA Promotes Misinformation and Limits Access with New Nutrition and Supplement Fact Labels

FDA guidelines are unconstitutional, violate the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause, and contravene Congressional intent.
 
Aug. 5, 2014 - PRLog -- July 29, 2014— Today the Alliance for Natural Health USA, in conjunction with the Weston A. Price Foundation and the Organic Consumers Association, submitted comments to the FDA on the agency’s new proposed guidelines for labels on food and nutritional supplements.

“The stated objective of the new labels is to help consumers make healthy dietary choices by taking into consideration new scientific discoveries. The problem is that a number of the new provisions do exactly the opposite,” explained Gretchen DuBeau, executive and legal director of the Alliance for Natural Health USA (ANH-USA).

One dangerous provision requires that supplement companies cease from using the word “folate” on nutritional fact labels. This rule requires manufacturers to instead use the term “folic acid,” a synthetic version of natural dietary folate, even if the product contains a natural form of the nutrient. This is misleading to consumers, many who are unable to properly assimilate folic acid, and will result in companies illegally mislabeling their products or changing their formulations to comply.

“I myself have a genetic condition that hinders my ability to utilize synthetic folic acid,” said DuBeau. “As a pregnant woman I depend on folate supplements to ensure the healthy neural development of my baby and to safeguard my own health against stroke, cardiovascular disease, and a host of other conditions. This rule jeopardizes my health, the health of my baby, and that of millions of other citizens,” DuBeau continued.

An additional concern relates to the guideline’s suggested intake levels for a number of nutrients, including magnesium, calcium, and vitamins A, C, D, and E. The FDA proposes to revise existing Reference Daily Intakes for vitamins and minerals based on recommendations from the government’s Institute of Medicine. At issue is the fact that these levels are based not on optimal intakes, but on the minimum levels a human might need. Despite the fact that numerous studies show that large numbers of Americans have nutritional deficiencies, these changes promote a decrease in the consumption of important vitamins and minerals.

According to Ze’eva Kushner Banks, staff attorney for ANH-USA, “This is a situation where a regulatory agency proposes the adoption of label changes that erode, rather than improve, public health. And a number of these provisions violate both the Constitution and Congressional intent. We are participating in this process in an attempt to uphold the law and ensure continued access for Americans.”

For more information or to contact the FDA, please visit http://www.anh-usa.org.

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The Alliance for Natural Health USA is part of an international organization dedicated to promoting natural, sustainable healthcare through good science and good law. We protect the right of natural health practitioners to practice, and the right of consumers to choose the healthcare options and treatment modalities they prefer, including complementary and alternative medicine. As a membership-based organization, we unite consumers, practitioners, and industry to speak with a common voice and have worked since 1992 to shift the medical paradigm from an exclusive focus on surgery, drugs and other conventional techniques to an “integrative” approach incorporating food, dietary supplements, and lifestyle changes.

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit nutrition education foundation dedicated to putting nutrient-dense foods back on American tables.

The Organic Consumers Association is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)(3) public interest organization advocating for health, justice, and sustainability on behalf of more than one million consumers.  The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)(4) allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.

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Tim Reihm
***@anh-usa.org
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