Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 That would be a first for the industry which, so far, has openly allowed mac nut processors to deceive consumers by labeling imported nuts as "Hawaiian."
Hawaii is a pristine environment in which to grow nuts, coffee, kava kava or practically anything. It's free of the typical shoreline pollution that you might find in other agricultural regions. It has outstanding natural resources in terms of sunlight, fresh water and fresh air, and it offers an ideal climate for growing foods of high nutritional density. |
| No requirement for honest labeling of mac nuts
Getting back to the details of the mac nut industry, there is currently no law requiring that macadamia nuts be accurately labeled with a country of origin. That is quite interesting, given that there are such laws on things like olive oil and that there is a qualitative difference between macadamia nuts grown in Hawaii versus other countries. |
| Hawaii House Bill 1628, sponsored by Rep. Bob Herkes, D-Puna-N. Kona, would require that mac nut packaging clearly state the percentage of nuts grown in Hawaii. That would be a first for the industry which, so far, has openly allowed mac nut processors to deceive consumers by labeling imported nuts as "Hawaiian."
Hawaii is a pristine environment in which to grow nuts, coffee, kava kava or practically anything. It's free of the typical shoreline pollution that you might find in other agricultural regions. |
Gary Null and Amy McDonald
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 The proposed labeling update follows similar labeling changes made in 2005 that warned of a suicidality risk in children and adolescents who use antidepressants. At that time, FDA asked manufacturers to add a black box warning to the labeling of all antidepressants to describe this risk and to emphasize the need for appropriate monitoring and close observation, particularly for younger patients taking these medications. |
| The proposed labeling changes apply to the entire category of antidepressants. Results of individual placebo-controlled scientific studies are reasonably consistent in showing a slight increase in suicidality for patients taking antidepressants in early treatment for most of the medications. Available data are
503 not sufficient to exclude any single medication from the increased risk of suici-dality.
The proposed labeling update follows similar labeling changes made in 2005 that warned of a suicidality risk in children and adolescents who use antidepressants. |
| Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today proposed that makers of all antidepressant medications update the existing black box warning on their products' labeling to include warnings about increased risks of suicidal thinking and behavior, known as suicidality, in young adults ages 18 to 24 during initial treatment (generally the first one to two months).
The proposed labeling changes also include language stating that scientific data did not show this increased risk in adults older than 24, and that adults ages 65 and older taking antidepressants have a decreased risk of suicidality. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 The ABC does not even seem committed to honest labeling. If the almonds are to be pasteurized, shouldn't they be labeled, "Pasteurized"? It seems stubbornly dishonest to cook all the almonds while labeling them "raw." It's an insult to the consumer, too, but it's also par for the course when it comes to food safety: The FDA, after all, insists that both irradiated foods and GMO foods should not be labeled as such because the labels might "confuse consumers." That's right: Too much information is dangerous to consumers! Knowledge might cause them to make the wrong purchasing decision! |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Now, with the USDA backing this fraudulent labeling decision by the Almond Board of California, we have two dominant government agencies (the FDA and USDA) who are both in favor of the blatant mislabeling of food products in order to keep consumers ignorant of how their foods are really being processed and degraded. |
Craig Pepin-Donat
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 It would implement a proactive approval process on all new products brought to market and standardized marketing guidelines to shut the door on fraudulent or implied claims made through bogus advertising, labeling and packaging.
Back to reality, the FDA's post-marketing responsibilities include monitoring safety, e.g., voluntary dietary supplement adverse event reporting, and product information, such as labeling, claims, package inserts, and accompanying literature. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates dietary supplement advertising. |
Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey
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 Food labeling in the United States has recently undergone some changes. The Food Allergen labeling and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law in August 2004. It requires food labels to clearly state if a product contains any of the top eight food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, soybeans, and wheat. All food products manufactured in the United States after January 1, 2006, are required to have updated labels declaring the presence of any of the top eight food allergens in the product. |
| The Food Allergen labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 was primarily passed to benefit individuals with food allergies. However, it is also of tremendous value to those with celiac disease, because wheat is often hidden on ingredient labels as "starch," "flavorings," "seasonings," "couscous," "farro," "farina," or "hydrolyzed vegetable protein" (Table 2). Because wheat is the most commonly used grain in the United States, by clarifying the source of ingredients and identifying "wheat," about 90% of labeling concerns are resolved for celiac and gluten-sensitive patients. |
Paul D. Blanc, M.D.
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 Even on its own terms, the labeling policy that is the mainstay of CPSC action on toxic materials is inadequate. In 1991, the Public Interest Research Group called on the CPSC to crack down on improper labeling of arts and crafts supplies, including glues, when it found that 44 percent of the products it surveyed carried insufficient warnings. " 'Our compliance people will take a look at it,' replied a CPSC spokesperson. |
Jeffrey M. Smith
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 The European Union and others, however, still have the loophole of not requiring labeling of milk and meat from animals fed GM feed.
The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is introducing in-store, on-shelf labeling of GM products in health food stores, planned for late 2008.
2. Voluntary "Non-GMO" labels
Many products in the United States and elsewhere are labeled by manufacturers as "Non-GMO." Although this is not defined and varies between producers, the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is promoting a uniform standard and its verification.
3. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| The labeling of pasteurized almonds as "raw" needs to be stopped. This is fraudulent, misleading labeling and it has the effect of causing consumers to realize they cannot trust ANY almonds, regardless of what the package says. After all, if pasteurized is labeled as "raw" then what does "organic" mean on the package? What does anything mean? The words on the package apparently have no meaning at all; at least not one that regular people would understand and agree to. This will ultimately lead to devastating financial losses among U.S. almond growers. |
Andreas Moritz
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 The license was accompanied with a new labeling policy, previously unheard of in the United States. Traditional dairy farmers are prohibited from labeling their milk as "hormone free"—while those using the hormone are not required to say that they use BST. Because uncontrolled hormone intake is linked to a number of serious health problems, there has been great concern among farmers who use BST that people would prefer the natural milk to the hormone treated one. Their pressure ensured the above legislation. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Fraudulent marketing, illegal labeling
The Almond Board of California is right now conspiring with the USDA to allow the fraudulent labeling of almonds that are being sold to consumers. How? Pasteurized, fumigated or cooked almonds will be openly labeled as "raw" almonds. As you can see from previous stories published by NewsTarget on this issue, the Almond Board of California recognizes no substantial difference between cooked and raw almonds, and thus does not see any need to distinguish between them on product packaging. |
Mark Schapiro
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 Labeling has proved controversial in the United States: the industry-has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to oppose, thus far successfully, state and county level legislative and initiative campaigns in California, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Rhode Island, and elsewhere that would require labeling of genetically engineered ingredients in food. |
Paula Begoun
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 Their labeling was false. The products' labeling listed an acid pH level of 3.4, but FDA and California State analyses of the product found a pH range below 2. In addition, the FDA alleged the labeling falsely described the products as "chemical free," even though the ingredient labels listed substances commonly recognized as chemicals.
"On Jan. 23, 1995, at FDA's request, U.S. marshals seized the entire lot of products at Product Packaging West in California. On Jan. |
Paula Begoun and Bryan Barron
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 When specialty grocery stores sell products that have strictly regulated organic labeling, many customers will never notice that the products in the other half of the store, where the cosmetics are sold, are backed by no such regulation, despite the similar labeling.
For more detailed information on the USDA organic standards, visit their Web site at www.ams.usda.gov/nop or call the National Organic Program at (202) 720-3252.
Hypoallergenic or Good for Sensitive Skin: These terms suggest to the consumer that the product is less likely to cause allergic reactions or skin sensitivities. |
Michael Pollan
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 It buried the change in a set of new, seemingly consumer-friendly rules about nutrient labeling so that news of the imitation rule's repeal did not appear until the twenty-seventh paragraph of The New York Times' account, published under the headline f.d.a. proposes sweeping change in food labeling: new rules designed to give consumers a better idea of nutritional value. (The second deck of the headline gave away the game: processors back move. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Over the last several decades, corporations have vigorously opposed truth in labeling laws and regulations, including those requiring the labeling of trans fatty acids, sodium content and even ingredients lists! (If the food corporations had their way, all ingredients would be considered "proprietary formulas" and not listed on the label at all.)
This bottled water issue brings to light the apparent deceptive practices of some of the largest suppliers of bottled water products. |
Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels
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 There are obvious dangers when well-intentioned doctors use tests that may falsely classify many people as sick—not only is there a potential for inappropriate labeling, but also the potential to expose relatively healthy people to the side effects of potent medicines. It is a danger the Monash researchers themselves highlighted.
Labeling a significant number of people who are not depressed as "probably depressed" might reasonably be considered a potential harm. We do not want to replace a situation of under-recognition with one of over-recognition, neither being of benefit to the patient. |
Stacy Malkan
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 Major loopholes in federal law allow the $20-billion-a-year cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of phthalates into many personal care products with no required testing, no required monitoring of health effects, and no required labeling," said the Not Too Pretty report.8 "To our knowledge, the 72 products detailed in this study represent the most comprehensive information available on the occurrence of phthalates in individual beauty care products." Yet the study represented just a tiny fraction of products on the market. |
Craig Pepin-Donat
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| Even with better labeling, we are still all exposed to trans fats in cooking oils in most restaurants. When our government is aware that trans fats kill people but only requires a label to tell people if they exist in a product, it is not enough. There are plenty of consumer advocate groups rallying behind banning trans fats. In fact, the city of New York has banned all trans fats from restaurants. |
John J. Ratey, MD
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 The detail of tracking down the missing document, or buying those little white tabs for labeling files, will gnaw at the back of my mind for months. But the momentum is gone and along with it my motivation.
As a child, thankfully, I had strict nuns for taskmasters, and when I wasn't at school I was outside running full tilt in one sport or another. Still, my room was a disaster; I forgot things constantly; and my tennis coach claimed that I was the most consistently inconsistent player he'd ever seen.
I have ADHD, obviously, but 1 never knew it; the term didn't exist when I was a kid. |
Benjamin H. Natelson, M.D.
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 The doctor will be aware of an extensive psychiatric literature labeling patients with unexplained symptoms as "somatizers" or "hypochondriacs." We'll discuss these labels in more detail later, but they've been around long enough to cause many generalists, family doctors, and internists to apply them in all too many cases. You see your symptoms as real; your doctor looks skeptical and makes a mental note that you're a "crock" or a complainer. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 It's just ruining the organic labeling program for personal care.
Mike: So what you are hoping to see, then, is an organic labeling law or regulation in the personal care products industry that's similar to the food industry?
Bronner: Exactly. Superficially, everyone says that's what they want, but in practice they're saying, "Here, we'll just do this branding. We don't really care what the ultimate personal care standard works out to be. We're just going to work around it and brand 'organic' on the products we're going to make. |
Gerald E. Markle and Frances B. McCrea
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 It is unteasonable," wrote the editors of JAMA, "to expect the same agency that was responsible for approval of drug licensing and labeling would also be committed to actively seek evidence to prove itself wrong." What is needed, the editors continued, is for Congress to establish an "independent drug safety board" to track the safety of drugs and medical devices after they are approved for use. Above all, "this agency must be completely independent of influence from the pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology firms, and medical device manufacturers. |
Andreas Moritz
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| Traditional dairy farmers are prohibited from labeling their milk as "hormone free"—while those using the hormone are not required to say that they use BST. Because uncontrolled hormone intake is linked to a number of serious health problems, there has been great concern among farmers who use BST that people would prefer the natural milk to the hormone treated one. Their pressure ensured the above legislation.
The granting of a license to increase milk production through hormones comes at a time when milk production is already much higher than is milk consumption. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 This "Final Rule" appears to be little more than a thinly-veiled attempt to establish wide-ranging authority where none exists by burying it in the language of a drug labeling rule. A more detailed legal criticism is offered by Karen Barth Menzies, an attorney at Baum Hedlund in Los Angeles:
On Wednesday, Jan.18, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration issued new regulations regarding the labeling of prescription drugs, including regulations aimed at providing doctors and patients with clearer information about the risks associated with prescription drugs. |
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