FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb took to Twitter on Tuesday to offer some initial thoughts on food labeling, particularly as it pertains to labels on organic products and other items touting “free” characteristics, such as antibiotic free and hormone free. Essentially, those words that are used to influence consumers’ purchases.
The FDA’s hope is to come out with a new Nutrition Innovation Strategy, which will give consumers more choices, while improving labeling to reflect the health attributes of food. This is partly why the FDA has recently said it will crack down on plant-based products that use the term dairy — the law against that has long been on the books, and it’s the first of what are expected to be several steps to better clarify labeling.
Here’s what Gottlieb tweeted:
ORGANIC FACTS: In coming weeks I’m going to put out more detailed information on what different terms mean on food packaging, to help consumers best use claims like organic, antibiotic free, etc. Since these issues are in the news today, I wanted to offer a few initial thoughts:
— Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) August 7, 2018
#FDA and USDA have distinct roles when it comes to the oversight of organic foods. USDA is charged with regulating use of the term “organic” on food labels whereas FDA oversees general food labeling compliance and safety issues: https://t.co/8jQaXeMDWa
— Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) August 7, 2018
Together, both #FDA and USDA help ensure the safety of the foods people eat, including organic foods, while also providing consumers access to factual information in a product’s label about how a food was produced:https://t.co/gDbIh3m0k7
— Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) August 7, 2018
#FDA is focused on empowering consumers with tools and information to make good food choices consistent with public health recommendations, and encourage development of healthier foods by industry. This also means making sure terms on labels are actionable https://t.co/ueLbo3ZtQE
— Scott Gottlieb, M.D. (@SGottliebFDA) August 7, 2018
While the agency’s Food Labeling Guide is the industry’s benchmark for recommended procedures as they pertain to allergens, nutrition, and safety, the overall thrust from Gottlieb now is to modernize identity standards across a variety of products.
