Food Warning Labels Confusing - FDA May Step In

Greg Owen

Attorney

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Food labels can be confusing at best. This can clearly pose a problem for consumers who may have food allergies. That is why The Food and Drug Administration will seek advice from both consumers and food makers, at which time they will consider whether they should intervene so as to prevent the consumer from using what could amount to a defective product.

"Consumers see the label "on so many products, they say, 'Oh heck, I'm going to ignore it,'" laments Dr. Steve Taylor, a food scientist at the University of Nebraska who co-authored a recent study about the confusion. For the seriously allergic, "I've characterized it as akin to playing Russian roulette with a really big gun that has 100 chambers and only one bullet. Sooner or later if you eat these products, you're going to eat the wrong one," he said. It is estimated that severe food allergies send approximately 30,000 emergency room visits a year, and cause as many as 200 deaths a year. FDA intervention and clearer labels may be what is called for in this instance.

For more information on this subject matter please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.