Questions and Exercises for Classroom Discussion
Do you look at Country of Origin Labeling? Have you noticed whether a piece of fruit or bag of nuts you bought was grown locally or within the United States or in another country? Besides fear of contamination from outside the United States, what are some reasons consumers might want such information? Do you think the government’s interests in requiring Country of Origin Labeling are legitimate?
Go into the FDA’s Warning Letter Database and look for a food misbranding case: http://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/WarningLetters/default.htm.[1] Read the warning letter. What are the violations? How serious is each violation in your opinion? What did the agency recommend the company do to fix the violation?
Identify some aspects of the food label regulated by the FDA that you think are potentially confusing to consumers or that studies have shown to be unclear. Create a proposal to the FDA that suggests the agency study these things, or if there are already studies to support your assertion, suggest the FDA change the label accordingly.
If available in your location, go to covered restaurants or similar retail food establishments and examine the calorie labels on the menus and menu boards. Are these clear and helpful? Would you have noticed them if you were not specifically looking for them? Ask to see the other nutrition information. Is there additional information that would be helpful there or on the menu boards? Could recommended serving sizes be captured somewhere within these requirements?
Read the City of Philadelphia’s Petition Requesting Exemption from Preemption from the FDA for its menu labeling requirement: www.regulations.gov/ contentStreamer?documentId=FDA-20ii-P-o646-oooi&attachmentNumber=i &disposition=attachment&contentType=pdf
Act as the FDA and write a response to Philadelphia. Recall that organic food may not contain GMO ingredients. Why or why not is this sufficient to address popular calls for GMO labeling? Do you think foods with GMO ingredients should be labeled as such? Why or why not?
Should consumer curiosity be enough to require information on food labels? Should there need to be a scientific basis, safety concerns, deception concerns, or other concerns behind labeling requirements?
- [1] Food and Drug Administration. Inspections, Compliance, Enforcement, and CriminalInvestigations. Warning Letters. http://www.fda.gov/iceci/enforcementactions/WarningLetters/default.htm
