Food and Drug Administration: Evaluation of Comments

Running head: FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

1
FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION

2

Evaluation of Comments Issued in Relation to Proposed Changes to Nutritional Facts Label
Name

Professor

Course

Institution

Date
Introduction

Food and Drug administration (FDA) is calling for the members of the public and any other interested party to present their comments on the proposed rule that require the companies that deal with conventional foods to update their nutritional fact labels in order to enable the consumers in United States tomake informed choices and at the same timemaintain the healthy dietary practices. According to the proposed rules, the companies will be required to declare percent daily value for theadded sugars and change current footnote on nutritional facts label (Proposed Changes to Nutrition Facts Label). If the proposed rules are adopted, it would result to particular changes such as greater understanding of the nutritional science, updating of the serving size requirement as well as new labeling requirements for particular package sizes (Highlights of Supplemental Proposed Rule). Many comments have been received from individuals like dieticians, scholars and consumers as well as organizations such as those that deal with manufacturing of food. Some of the comments were logical, factual, geared towards public interest and they supported the proposed rules. On the other hand, the comments opposing the proposed rules focused on how certain industries will be adversely impacted and despite the fact that they play a critical role in the growth of the economy through generation of tax and offering of employment opportunities to many people. The comments of the groups to be reviewed shared a common similarity in the sense that they all supported declaration of sugar contents in the nutritional fact labels. However, they differed on the issue of declaration of added sugars alone instead of total sugar contents in the products.
Three Pros from three interest Groups attributed to the Proposed Rule

The first pro in the proposed rule is the fact the declaration or disclosure of sugar contents on the nutritional facts label will help the consumers and in particular those that are suffering from certain diseases to make informed decision while choosing the diet to take. According to the comment that was presented by a consumer by the name Sara Colman, the companies dealing with food should also disclose phosphorous contents on nutritional facts label because it would help the dieticians and caregivers of the patients suffering kidney diseases to know which diet to serve to them (Comment from Sara Colman). According to Colman, there about 450, 000 United States citizens undergoing kidney dialysis and disclosure of phosphorous contents would help the caregivers and dieticians to make informed decisions while deciding food to serve to these patients because they require low phosphorous intake (Comment from Sara Colman). Furthermore, the consumer also state that there about 26 million citizens in the country having kidney diseases and these people are expected to limit the intake of phosphorous to less than 1000 mg in early stages. Disclosure of such contents will help the patients which diets to take and avoid. The comment is factual and geared towards the general public. There is no cost that this group is trying to avoid such as finding the product that matches their preference. This group supports the rule not because it has any interest in the proposed rule but because it will help individuals to make informed decisions when caring for the kidney diseases patients.

The second pro in the proposed rule is the fact disclosure of sugar contents will help people make informed choices as it revealed in the comment that was presented by John Adams. According to this comment, there is concrete evidence that shows that consumers in United States are more likely switch from products with high sugar contents to those that have low content(Comment from John Adams). The comment further states that sugar in foods contribute significantly to obesity and that’s why consumers tend to avoid it. The comment is factual as it is based on the research that has already been done and it is geared towards public interest. This is due to the fact thatthe grouphas presentedits opinion on the importance of declaring added sugar on foods in order to help individuals make good decisions based on the information available. Furthermore, the person has no personal interest in the propose rule.

The other pro in the proposed rule is the fact that the disclosure of the daily value sugar intake will enable people to make informed decisions by avoiding sugary foods that would expose them to certain diseases due to excessive sugar calories (Comment from NASPGHAN). This comment was issued by North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) that deals with clinical expertise and specialized training for the children suffering from digestive system disorders. According to NASPGHAN, the disclosure of the daily value sugar contents will enable the parents as well as caregivers to make informed decision on the food products which should be consumed by the children thereby preventing them from taking the added sugars that exceeds their healthy daily limits (Comment from NASPGHAN). This comment is factual and geared towards the interests of the members of the public and the group did not seek to avoid the cost characterized by finding the product that matches her tastes. The group has no interest in the proposed rule and its comment reveals why the proposed rule should be adopted in order to enable members of the public make good decisions in relations to the diet they will take or avoid based on the information available.
Three Cons from three interest Groups attributed to the Proposed Rule

The first con in the proposed rule is that it will affect the certain industries that deal with the growing and processing of certain crops. Some of these industries are those that deal with the growth and processing of cranberry (Comment from Comment from Jack Potter). According to the comment that was issued by the Cranberry PotterCompany that deals with the growth of cranberries, the demand for disclosure of added sugar will affect the industry badly because the crop has very little natural sugar and for it to be edible sugar must be added and this this will make the fruit unhealthy if new law came into effect (Comment from Comment from Jack Potter). As a result, many consumers will avoid the product and this will have adverse effects on the industry. This comment is factual but not geared towards the interests of the member of the public and it and the group aims at retaining their competitive advantage. This is due to the fact the group aims at retaining its competitive advantage and protects its business interest on the expense of the health of the members of the public.

The second con on the proposed rule is that it is not based on science. According to the comment that was issued by the International Dairy Food Association, the proposed objectives are not based on science and the rule itself conflict with the previous rule of FDA as well as that of USDA and which relate to added sugars. According to the comment, FDA stated that there is no scientific evidence that reveals that the body makes the distinction between the naturally occurring sugars in food and those that are added (Comment from International Dairy Foods Association). The consumer further states that according to the United States consumer report, there is no evidence that added sugar contribute to the weight gain or heart diseases (Comment from International Dairy Foods Association). Therefore, the rule should be not be adopted because it will make the consumers create negative perceptions towardstheir products. The comment is factual but not geared towards the interests of the public interest. The company seeks to gain competitive advantage. The association intends to protect the business interests of its members and it ignores the health benefits that will be realized by consumers by avoiding products with high sugar content. The association fails to support the proposed rule because it will adversely impact the business of its members even though it’s aware that disclosure of the sugar content will benefit people.

The third con is based on the fact the body cannot distinguish between the natural and added sugar. Therefore, calling for the disclosure of the added sugar will not be of much benefit health wise as long as the natural sugar still remains high. Therefore, the disclosure of the added sugar only is likely to mislead the consumers and the law will not be of much importance(Comments from Purdue University). This comment was issued by the department of Nutritional Science from Purdue University and it is factual. The group did not seek to avoid the cost characterized by finding the product that matches her tastes and it is and geared towards public interests. Even though this group opposes the rule, it is based on the assumption that disclosure of added sugar only is likely to mislead people because the body does not differentiate between added and natural sugar. It therefore calls for all sugar content in foods be disclosed in nutrition facts label in order to help people make decision based on accurate full and accurate information.
Recommendations

The proposed rule requires the companies that deals with convention foods to disclose the percentage of added sugar on their nutritional facts labels in order to enable consumers make informed decisions when selecting diets to take. However, there is evidence which shows that the body does not differentiate between the natural and added sugars. Therefore, the disclosure of added sugar only will help consumers much in maintaining healthy practices and making informed decisions because natural sugars will also be high. In this regard, the FDA should expand the rule to include natural sugars. In addition, FDA should also require phosphorous to be declared on nutritional facts labels so as to enable dieticians and caregivers of patient undergoing dialysis know the diet they should give to these patients. About 26 million citizens are suffering from kidney diseases and about 450,000 are undergoing dialysis and they all should take diets with low phosphorous.

Reference

Comment from Comment from Jack Potter, Potter Cranberry Company. https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2012-N-1210-0530
Comment from International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2012-N-1210-0792
Comment from Kate Allen. https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2012-N-1210-0870
Comment from North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2012-N-1210-0691
Comment from Sara Colman.https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2012-N-1210-0197
Comments from Purdue University.https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2012-N-1210-0496
Highlights of the Supplemental Proposed Rule for Updating the Nutrition Facts Label – Issued July 2015.http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm#supplemental
Proposed Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label. http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm