CSPI and Unilever's Take Control
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Consumer organization is "concerned" FDA conducted review of the cholesterol-lowering margarine "in secret" and "did not provide the public an opportunity to comment." FDA cleared the product April 30 ("The Tan Sheet" May 10, p. 13). CSPI also notes June 5 that if FDA had considered the product's labeled statement of cholesterol benefit to be a health claim, "the agency would have been legally required to give the public an opportunity to comment before the product was placed on the market." FDA has "prohibited health claims for heart disease on foods, like margarine, that are not low in fat," the watchdog group notes. "FDA has excluded the public from the decision-making process and let the company skirt the rules," CSPI says