Claims that FDA Regulates

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Created on 01, January, 2005

A food article in a major metropolitan newspaper states that FDA “regulates only nutritional claims that draw an explicit connection between a particular product and a specific disease” and that “more general claims that an ingredient is healthful…” are not subject to FDA approval.

Not true. First, claims relating to disease are considered health claims (not “nutritional claims,” which are more accurately called “nutrient content claims” and pertain to the level of a nutrient in a food). Second, implied health claims are regulated. Third, the term “healthy”, “healthful”, etc. is regulated -- foods must meet certain criteria to use the term.