Court Scolds Gerber for Marketing Candy as “Fruit Juice Snacks” – Not Baby Food but Candy

Jan 4, 2009 Call to Action, Nutrition, additives

Thanks to Josie in CA who let us know about the latest marketing ploy at Gerber. Not only do the commercial baby food companies try to deceive parents into thinking that they are better at feeding babies than the parents are, they are now making foods labeled as Fruit Juice Snacks – these contain corn syrup and sugar as the first 2 ingredients. We know what that means, the food contains the most of corn syrup than the second most ingredient is sugar… Hmm, where’s the fruit juice in that………..oh yes, just check farther down the label. You know what that means, the farther down it is, the least of that ingredient it contains!

Court Scolds Gerber for Marketing Candy as “Fruit Juice Snacks”

Lawsuit Against Company to Move Forward – http://cspinet.org/new/200901021.html

WASHINGTON—The Gerber Products Company, owned by Nestleì, has drawn harsh criticism from a U.S. Court of Appeals for using pictures of real fruit to market a gummi-bear-like candy formerly called “Fruit Juice Snacks.” The Court said that consumers would likely be deceived because the package depicts images of oranges, cherries and strawberries, though the leading ingredients are corn syrup and sugar.

The case brought against Gerber by a private citizen was initially dismissed by a Federal District Court in California, but then reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on December 22. Gerber argued that consumers could avoid being misled by turning the package around and reading the ingredient list. But the Court stated that consumers should not be “expected to look beyond misleading representations on the front of the box to discover the truth from the ingredient list in small print on the side of the box.”

“The Court’s decision is a warning to all companies that try to make junk food look healthy by depicting nutritious fruits, vegetables, and whole grains on the labels of sugary, high-calorie snacks,” said Bruce Silverglade, CSPI director of legal affairs.

If you’re disgusted by this, you can always email Gerber and let them know.

Tags: corn syrup, Sugar

CSPI asks FDA for a ban on food (color) dyes. Cites negative affects on Children

Jun 3, 2008 Call to Action, Dangerous Food Items, additives

From the Center for Science in the Public Interest: 
CSPI Urges FDA to Ban Artificial Food Dyes Linked to Behavior Problems – Dyes Called “Secret Shame” of Food Industry and Regulators

Yellow 5, Red 40, and six other widely used artificial colorings are linked to hyperactivity and behavior problems in children and should be prohibited from use in foods, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The group today formally petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban the dyes, several of which are already being phased out in the United Kingdom.

The other six dyes are Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Orange B, Red 3, and Yellow 6.

Synthetic food dyes have been suspected of disrupting children’s behavior since the 1970s, when Dr. Ben Feingold, a San Francisco allergist, reported that his patients improved when their diets were changed. Numerous controlled studies conducted over the next three decades in the United States, Europe, and Australia proved that some children’s behavior is worsened by artificial dyes, but the government did nothing to discourage their use and food manufacturers greatly increased their reliance on them.

A comprehensive 2004 meta-analysis of the medical literature concluded that artificial dyes affect children’s behavior, and two recent studies funded by the British government found that dyes (as well as the preservative sodium benzoate) adversely affect kids’ behavior.

Unlike most previous studies, those British studies tested children in the general population, not children whose parents suspected they were sensitive to dyes. As a result, the British government is successfully pressuring food manufacturers to switch to safer colorings.

The CSPI statement notes the following foods marketed to kids include:

Artificial dyes are particularly prevalent in the sugary cereals, candies, sodas, and snack foods pitched to kids.

For instance, General Mills’ Fruit Roll-ups and Fruit-by-the-Foot flavored snacks get their fruity colors from Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, and Blue 1.

General Mills’ Fruity Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Trix also contain several of the problematic dyes, as do Kellogg’s Froot Loops and Apple Jacks and Post’s Fruity Pebbles.

More than a dozen American varieties of Kraft’s Oscar Meyer Lunchables kids’ meals contain artificial food dyes, but not so the British versions.

Starburst Chews, Skittles, and M&M candies—all Mars products—contain the full spectrum of artificial colors in the U.S., but not in the U.K., where the company uses natural colorings.

Even foods that aren’t particularly brightly colored can contain dyes, including several varieties of macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes.

Betty Crocker’s Au Gratin “100% Real” Potatoes are partly not real, colored as they are with Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, both derived from coal tar.

Remarkably, in Britain, the color in McDonald’s strawberry sauce for sundaes actually comes from strawberries; in the U.S. it comes from Red 40.

You may read the full press release here at the CSPI site

Tags: CSPI, FDA, food dye

Baby Body Care Products with Safe Ingredients

Feb 16, 2008 Dangerous Baby Items, Natural Baby, additives

We have been cruising through the Cosmetics Database for some time now.  This database is maintained and run by the Environmental Working Group.  Named Skin Deep,  this database “pairs ingredients in more than 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety.”

Within the pages of this important site are parent’s guides.  These guides show you the safest baby body care products.  The database guide will also show you which products contain parabens and the dreaded “fragrance” ingredient.  

For example,  Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo and Body Wash scores a 4 for hazardous ingredients.  This means that 68% of baby shampoo’s have lower hazard concerns while 39% of baby body wash products have lower hazard concerns.

Have a looksee around the database.  You may be surprised at the ratings of popular baby body care products!