Warning To Functional Food Marketers: Know U.S. Food And Drug Laws Before Making Claims

Players in the $30 billion U.S. functional foods market need to take a careful look at America's food and drug laws before they make health or wellness claims on their labels. Food writer Lynn Kuntz warns marketers that it is relatively easy to run afoul of government regulations, as Unilever and Cadbury Adams Dr Pepper Snapple Group found out recently. In warning letters, the FDA got very specific about transgressions. Unilever, for example, provided links to Web sites that linked Lipton decaffeinated Green Tea with scientific studies showing a cholesterol lowering effect. That kind of promotion – “for conditions that cause it to be a drug” – is taboo. “Crossing the line, intentionally or not, may seem a bold move,” Kuntz writes, but could lead to “some unpleasant surprises.”