Food And Drug Administration: A Case Study

Many Americans are increasingly concerned with the nutritional value of the foods they consume and just how harmful processed food and genetically modified food is for the body. Consumers have come to rely on food product labels to help them make healthier decisions about the food they eat (Portland, Maine, n.d., par. 1). Initially, nutrition labels were introduced to “help people determine the amount of fat, salt, or sugar” a product contained (Fera, 2014, par. 1). Today’s consumers, however, also “demand information about the quality and provenance of their food” (Fera, 2014, par. 1). As a result of consumers’ demand for quality food products, many food and beverage companies began marketing some of their products using the term natural in an effort to appease consumers and circumvent the stringent …show more content…
Food and Drug Administration, 2015, par. 1). The agency has decided to “explore the use of the term ‘natural,’” and is requesting comments from the public on the use of the term natural “in the labeling of human food products” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2015). The FDA’s website admits they are taking this action for two reasons. First, the agency has received “three Citizen Petitions asking that the agency define the term ‘natural’ on food labels” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2015, par. 2). Second, “litigation between private parties,” which have “requested administrative determinations from the FDA regarding whether food products containing ingredients produced using genetic engineering or foods containing high fructose corn syrup may be labeled as ‘natural’” (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2015, par. 2). At this writing, the comment period for the public comment is scheduled to end on May 10, 2016 – the same day as the FDA’s petition is scheduled to be submitted (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2015, par.