Are there any limits to how food products can advertise themselves?
I bought a package of granola that told about how healthy it was. When I looked at the list of ingredients, sugar was listed first. This is more of a processed food than a healthy one. How can they get away with this?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
10 Answers
I think the wording is how. “Healthy” is a very broad and mutable designation. Who is it tha5 regulates that? The FDA? Is there a truth-in-advertising commission?
ETA Looked it up, it’s the FTC.
Granola is not healthy. That’s like saying fruit snacks are fruit and not candy. They often get sued for this but they usually just settle up and continue doing whatever they want. Processed food is trash, we all know it (or should know it) Reminds me of the transfat labeling debacle. They were forced to list it as an ingredient but were only required to if it was more than half a gram per serving. They can list “zero grams of transfat” if it’s 0.49 grams with a 1-gram serving size. You really have to read the fine print and assume anything vague is hiding something bad. It always is.
I imagine the food lobbyists make sure the rules concerning false advertising of food products are purposely vague. Claiming the granola is “healthy” meets this idea by first not saying what makes it healthy, what healthy really is, if it is healthy compared to something else and many, many more. Until there are set definitions and some pressure put onto the food and drug industries to change their practices, it will remain this way. Your best bet is to just read labels before buying.
There have been many cases of false advertising. The trouble is that there is no board that regulates what they can say at the start of marketing. Someone has to bring a case of false claims to the FDA or USDA.
Basa-akwards in my mind.
It’s a moving target too. If the FDA defines a term such as “fruit” they’ll call their ingredient “fruit puree” which has no definition and can be whatever the hell they want it to be.
However, I imagine the same amount of carbs in the granola are healthier than the same amount of carbs in a donut. So it’s kind of relative.
The products don’t advertise themselves. Someone in marketing works on the advertising.
@LifeQuestioner Not always. It depends. Is that Granola bar loaded with transfat? Was that donut baked? Fried in healthier oil? Details matter. It’s all shit though if you asked me.
You’re in America, honey….remember, the place that used empowerment of women to get them to buy cigarettes….
There is no limit…you lie to make a sale by any means.
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
