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3
Actions by Federal Agencies:
A Focus on Foods and Beverages
Key Presenter Messages
• The Federal Trade Commission has been examining the self-
regulation of marketing practices by the food industry and is
working on nutritional standards for food marketed to chil-
dren and adolescents.
• The Food and Drug Administration has been implementing the
federal menu labeling law, updating the Nutrition Facts label,
defining dietary guidance statements, and considering a front-
of-package labeling system.
• Although their reach and budgets are limited, federal agencies
have many potential ways to help prevent childhood obesity.
Three speakers at the workshop described actions taken by the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to
alter some of the factors that contribute to childhood obesity in the United
States. Although there are limits on the authority of federal agencies to
regulate the manufacture, marketing, and consumption of foods and bever-
ages, legislation also gives them unique leverage points for combating the
obesity epidemic.
13
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14 LEGAL STRATEGIES IN CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION
INITIATIVES BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
The FTC is involved in helping to prevent childhood obesity in several
ways, including public education and the enforcement of regulations, said
David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. In
his presentation, Vladeck focused on two major initiatives—one directed at
food marketing and the other at nutritional standards.
In 2008 the FTC released a groundbreaking report on food and bever-
age marketing to children based on 2006 data (FTC, 2008). Previously, no
government agency had been able to document as thoroughly and precisely
the dollars spent on the wide array of marketing techniques being used
to promote foods and beverages to children. By using its powers of com-
pulsory process, which give the agency the legal authority to compel the
provision of certain kinds of information, the FTC was able to amass an
unprecedented data set on these techniques. Based on these data, the FTC
made several key recommendations:
• All food and beverage companies should adopt and adhere to
meaningful nutrition-based standards for marketing their products
to children under 12.
• These nutrition-based standards should not apply just to television,
radio, print, and Internet advertising but cover the full range of
marketing activities directed at children, including packaging and
in-store promotions.
• All companies should cease in-school marketing and promotion
of foods and beverages that fail to meet meaningful nutritional
standards.
• Media and entertainment companies should institute their own
self-regulatory programs.
In its study, the FTC did not address the question of whether there is
a link between food marketing to children and childhood obesity rates.
However, in a comprehensive survey of the then-available research on the
relationship between food advertising on television and requests for, pref-
erences for, and consumption of the advertised products by children and
adolescents, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that there is strong
evidence that television advertising influences food and beverage requests,
preferences, and short-term consumption by children aged 2 to 11 (IOM,
2006). The evidence with respect to adolescents and to a relationship with
long-term consumption patterns was not as strong. The IOM study did not
draw a conclusion about the causal relationship between television advertis-
ing and adiposity in children and adolescents, although the two are clearly
associated, said Vladeck. He noted that additional research has occurred
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15
ACTIONS BY FEDERAL AGENCIES
in this area since 2006 and that updating this literature is warranted if not
already under way.
In its 2008 report, the FTC also committed to conducting a follow-up
study a few years later. That follow-up study has now begun. On August
23, 2010, the FTC sent a second round of compulsory process orders to
48 companies, including most of the original 44 companies. These orders
sought similar but expanded information about marketing activities and
expenditures for calendar year 2009, as well as nutritional information on
the foods marketed to children.
The timing of this follow-up study is propitious, said Vladeck. In 2006,
efforts by the industry to self-regulate its activities in this area were in their
formative stages. By the close of 2009, the industry had 3 years of experi-
ence with self-regulation. In its forthcoming report, the FTC will be able to
document not only the dollars spent on marketing but also the nutritional
properties of the advertised products. In this way, it will be able to measure
the extent to which self-regulation has achieved its stated goal of changing
the nutritional landscape of food marketing to children.
The second initiative Vladeck described is a joint undertaking of the
FTC, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Congress has charged an interagency
working group with recommending nutritional standards for foods to be
marketed to children and adolescents. The group has been preparing a
notice proposing a set of nutritional standards—a large and complex task,
according to Vladeck. When the proposal is published, the group will seek
public comment, “and the more comment the better,” he said, since “we
have struggled with some of these issues.”
The proposed standards will not be regulations, Vladeck emphasized.
Rather, the voluntary cooperation of the food industry will be sought
in using the standards to raise the nutritional bar for foods marketed to
children and bring greater uniformity to the standards companies follow.
Regulators and Congress “have made the decision to give self-regulation a
chance,” said Vladeck.
INITIATIVES BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
As the agency responsible for regulating the labeling of most food
products on the market, the FDA is involved in many activities with a
connection to childhood obesity. Barbara Schneeman, director, Office of
Nutrition, Labeling, and Dietary Supplements, Center for Food Safety and
Applied Nutrition, FDA, described four specific initiatives: implementing
the federal menu labeling law, updating the Nutrition Facts label, defining
dietary guidance statements, and considering a front-of-package labeling
system or systems.
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16 LEGAL STRATEGIES IN CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION
Federal menu labeling law: The Affordable Care Act of 2010 created a
requirement for nutrition information on menus, menu boards, and vend-
ing machines. This requirement applies to chain restaurants with 20 or
more locations and similar retail food establishments. They must disclose
calorie content on menus and menu boards, make additional nutrition
information available upon request, and provide a statement on the menu
or menu board about the availability of that additional information. They
also must provide calorie information for most self-service items and foods
on display. The law applies as well to vending machine companies that own
or operate 20 or more vending machines. If the Nutrition Facts informa-
tion for products in the machines is not readily available to consumers, the
calorie information for those products must be disclosed. Since Americans
on average now consume about a third of their total calories outside the
home, Schneeman said, labeling of these foods has become an increasingly
important issue. In July 2010 the FDA issued a Federal Register notice seek-
ing research and expert opinion on menu labeling, in response to which it
received 873 comments. In that same month, the agency published a Fed-
eral Register notice regarding restaurants that may not be covered by the
federal law but are covered by state or local requirements and could choose
to be covered by the federal law. In August the FDA published a guidance
document explaining the preemptive effect of the new law, along with draft
guidance on the provisions of the law that were effective immediately. At
the time of the workshop, the agency was working to finalize its implemen-
tation guidance for the new law, with a statutory deadline of March 23,
2011, for publishing the proposed regulations.
Nutrition Facts label: The FDA has been working to update the Nutri-
tion Facts label that since 1994 has been mandated to appear on most
packaged food in the United States. The label includes information on
serving size, calories, and nutritional content based on daily values. The
agency plans to issue proposed regulations regarding the prominence of
the calorie information, updated daily value information, and updated
serving size information for certain products. Additional issues on which
the FDA is working involve the declaration for carbohydrates, the utility
of the footnote that appears on the label, and the inclusion of nutrients of
public health value.
Dietary guidance statements: The FDA is working on the dietary guid-
ance statements used in food labeling, which relate to general dietary pat-
terns and practices that promote health. An example is: “Substitute higher
fat snacks with fruits and vegetables for a quick alternative.” The use of
these statements by manufacturers is voluntary, but the FDA wants to
provide guidance on conditions under which it is appropriate to use such
statements on food products, Schneeman said. The FDA also believes that
it would be beneficial to define these types of statements more clearly.
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ACTIONS BY FEDERAL AGENCIES
Front-of-package labeling: Finally, the FDA wants to develop a front-
of-package labeling system or systems that consumers will notice, under-
stand, and use to make healthier food choices. This labeling also should
encourage consumers to make more use of the Nutrition Facts label. Front-
of-package labeling can be divided roughly into two categories: information
based on nutrients, and numeric or symbolic summary symbols. The latter
might include a logo; a numeric or symbolic rating (such as multiple stars);
or a system based on red, yellow, and green highlighting. An example of
what has been studied is a shorter version of Nutrition Facts, which the
FDA has termed Nutrition Tips. The agency also has tested the provision
of nutritional information through a rating on the front of the package or
through the use of a term such as “healthy.” The IOM has been studying
front-of-package labeling, and Schneeman said the FDA is following this
work carefully to learn how such labeling can be most effective. At the
time of the workshop, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation also was carrying out a study on labeling that would help
inform the FDA’s actions. According to Schneeman, the FDA wants “to
make sure that we have the right information, so as we move forward with
guidance, we are coming up with something that we know will be of value
to consumers.”
In addition to the above initiatives, the FDA is involved in food label-
ing in other ways. For example, in February 2010 it sent warning letters
to 17 companies about misleading claims on the front of packages. The
agency also is actively involved with other agencies in the development of
the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and in efforts addressing the market-
ing of foods to children.
Michael Landa, acting director, Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition, FDA, spoke more broadly about the FDA’s role in preventing
childhood obesity. The agency issues and enforces regulations requiring
various types of label disclosure. It enforces a general prohibition against
labeling that is false or misleading. Also, it engages in some educational
activities, although its budget for such activities is limited.
The FDA’s underlying goal, Landa said, is to determine how to motivate
people to follow healthful diets. How can labels be designed and applied
so that people will understand, pay attention to, and use them? “Most of
our efforts are geared to providing information to help consumers construct
and follow healthful diets,” he said. “You have to get that right. You have
to get it in language that people understand, but also in language that they
can and will use.”
The FDA also oversees the way industry uses health claims. For exam-
ple, the agency authorizes by regulation a particular kind of health claim.
“The paradigm is, ‘consumption of X may help reduce Y,’” said Landa.
“Those [claims] are pretty tightly controlled.” In contrast, the FDA is still
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18 LEGAL STRATEGIES IN CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION
involved in litigation involving health claims not supported by “significant
scientific agreement,” a statutory standard based on publicly available data
of a certain quality. Courts have ruled against the FDA’s attempts to ban
such claims and have asked whether they could be qualified through the use
of a disclaimer. The FDA has objected to the use of such qualified health
claims, but the courts have ruled that the First Amendment does not allow
the agency to ban the formulation and use of at least some such claims by
companies. “Much of the litigation has been over what that formulation
is,” said Landa.
Finally, Landa expressed the opinion that one of the primary reasons
for the increased use of seatbelts was education of elementary school chil-
dren. “At least when my son was in elementary school, heaven help the
driver or passenger in a car if he did not have his seatbelt on.” To prevent
childhood obesity, Landa said, the government will need to devote “a good
deal of energy, time, money, and thought to education.”
DISCUSSION
During the discussion period, Bruce Silverglade, Center for Science in
the Public Interest, asked Landa about a different kind of health claim,
which takes the form of “consumption of X helps maintain a healthy Y.”
Landa replied that the FDA has no premarket control over these so-called
structure–function claims; the law does not require that companies notify
the FDA before such claims are made. The regulatory tool available to the
FDA in these cases is the statute barring interstate commerce in food prod-
ucts that bear false or misleading labeling. The law states that companies
should have substantiation to support structure–function claims. But the
FDA, unlike the FTC, does not have compulsory process power to force a
company to submit the evidence it has. The FDA can search the published
literature to see whether it contains evidence supporting the claim, but
even if it does not, this does not mean that data supporting the claim do
not exist.
Silverglade also asked Vladeck whether the FTC needs evidence con-
cerning causation to make a claim that a product’s labeling is deceptive.
Vladeck replied that the FTC does not take the position that causality or
materiality is a necessary element of a claim. It remains a point of conten-
tion whether a company can defend against a claim by proving that no
one was affected—that is, that the claim is immaterial. As an example,
Vladeck noted that the FTC sent letters to companies about their use
of omega-3 fatty acids in marketing claims, and many of the companies
changed the claims. “If there were litigation over any of those claims,” he
said, “we could have established that these claims were material to purchas-
ing decisions.”
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ACTIONS BY FEDERAL AGENCIES
Several workshop participants discussed the extent to which legal strat-
egies should differ for products that are not necessary to life, such as
tobacco, and those that are necessary to life, such as food. Teret pointed
out that some people in the advocacy and legal communities believe that
the ultimate goal should be to eliminate the manufacture and smoking of
cigarettes, whereas no one would make that claim about food or the use of
motor vehicles. Thus legal strategies and legal goals must be appropriate to
the type of product, he suggested. A finer-grained analysis could consider
particular kinds of foods, such as calorie-dense foods, he said.
Vladeck emphasized that just because a product is necessary does not
mean that the law cannot be used to effect change. He noted that many
successful public health initiatives have involved necessary products. The
introduction of the air bag (discussed in Chapter 2) is a good example. No
one was going to argue that we should eliminate all motor vehicles. . . . The
argument is that you needed to effect change.”
Schneeman pointed out that those who formulated the 2005 Dietary
Guidelines struggled with the issue of necessary and unnecessary consump-
tion. One way to analyze food consumption is to calculate how many
“discretionary calories” a person can consume without gaining weight,
although some object to this term. A person who engages in low to mod-
erate levels of physical activity has a relatively limited number of calories
from which to gain necessary nutrients without becoming obese, and thus
must consume nutrient-dense foods. Yet many Americans consume more
calories than they can burn without meeting their nutrient needs. “That is
part of the dilemma of how we think of food. Yes, it is necessary, but how
should we be thinking of it in terms of meeting our nutrient needs?” The
advisory committee working on revising the Dietary Guidelines has been
examining the concept of nutrient-dense foods, Schneeman said.
Scott Faber of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (whose presen-
tation at the workshop is summarized in the next chapter) observed that a
glass of 2 percent milk is not an inherently dangerous product like a gun.
The regulatory approach taken toward milk therefore should be different
from that taken toward certain other commercial products. Moreover,
applying the same regulatory approach to all foods is problematic because
it is difficult to draw the line between necessary and unnecessary calories.
For example, one person’s list of discretionary foods would be different
from another’s. Furthermore, such distinctions would be difficult to imple-
ment given the many thousands of food items in the marketplace. Thus,
said Faber, setting limits on manufacturers is a complex undertaking that
may not be the best approach to the problem.
In response to a question about preventing childhood obesity in com-
munities of color, specifically in Hispanic communities, Vladeck noted that
the FTC is an antifraud agency and not a public health agency. However,
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20 LEGAL STRATEGIES IN CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREVENTION
it does carefully monitor Spanish-language media for misleading claims
directed to Hispanic communities. Schneeman pointed out that the FDA
has provisions for the dual labeling of food products in Spanish and Eng-
lish. The agency also has outreach and education programs for Hispanic
communities. For example, the Spot the Block program has a component
aimed at getting Spanish-speaking communities to make greater use of
the Nutrition Facts label. Similarly, Landa said that the front-of-package
labeling initiative will include a public education campaign focused on par-
ticular groups and using multiple languages. “We understand that there are
different communities that will use these labels differently, and we need to
structure our public education campaign accordingly,” he said.
In response to a question about how the FDA can enforce the menu
labeling provisions for companies that fail to comply, Landa suggested that
the enforcement tools available to the agency are not a good fit with the
regulations. The agency can seize products, issue injunctions for failures to
comply, or prosecute, but it lacks the authority to seek civil monetary penal-
ties. If states issue laws that are identical to federal requirements, the state
laws will not be preempted, and the states can then use whatever enforce-
ment mechanisms are available to them. “My own view,” said Landa, “is
that the enforcement mechanism that would work in this circumstance is a
fine, under some minimal administrative process that met the requirements
of constitutional due process. But we don’t have that authority.”
Joseph Thompson, a member of the IOM’s Standing Committee on
Childhood Obesity Prevention, asked whether federal agencies view child-
hood obesity as an epidemic and therefore deserving of special treatment,
or as a new issue that should be tackled through regular processes. For
example, the outbreak of H1N1 influenza was treated as an epidemic and
led to the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to buy vaccines
of uncertain efficacy. Vladeck responded that labeling childhood obesity
an epidemic would not necessarily be crucial to the FTC’s actions. The
agency already views the situation as critical and is devoting “extraordi-
nary resources” to address it. In its most recent study of food marketing,
for example, the FTC asked 48 companies for enormous amounts of data
involving many hundreds of products. “This is a massive undertaking,”
said Vladeck.
Landa said that the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity has not
changed how the FDA uses its statutory tools but has created a strong sense
of urgency. For example, the agency has issued three guidance documents
on menu labeling in the past 8 months, each of which represents consider-
able effort since the statutes are not necessarily clear, and the process for
issuing such documents can be cumbersome. Schneeman observed that the
FDA has entered into an increasing number of partnerships with other
federal agencies to accelerate progress on the issue.
