Facing unrelenting criticism and concerns, the Smart Choices program, a food-labeling system headed by the dean of Tufts' nutrition school, voluntarily suspended operations on Oct. 23.
The program opted to postpone its activities for the time being in response to an Oct. 20 announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was planning to design its own food-labeling system that would serve as an industry standard.
Board members for the Smart Choices program declined to comment for this article.
Designed to promote healthier consumer choices, Smart Choices attempted to institute a universal method of food ranking by doling out green check marks to foods it deemed healthy. The program's rankings were controversial, however, with severe criticisms raised over the labeling of Cocoa Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Lucky Charms, Breyers ice cream and Froot Loops as healthy choices.
Mike Hughes, chair of the Smart Choices program, praised the FDA initiative and identified with its goals in an Oct. 23 press release. "We welcome the FDA's interest in developing uniform front-of-package and shelf-labeling criteria," he said. "The Smart Choices Program shares that exact goal."
The Keystone Center, a non-profit organization that deals with pressing social, environmental and health issues, spearheaded the program, which began in August of this year. Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Eileen Kennedy is the president of the Smart Choices board and was heavily involved in the program's creation. Kennedy declined to comment for this article.
Though the Smart Choices program has been officially suspended for the past month, it was left to the companies involved in the program to determine whether existing Smart Choices check marks should be removed from their products.
Sixteen companies are currently listed on Smart Choice's Web Site as participating in the program. General Mills, Inc.; Kellogg Company; Kraft Foods; PepsiCo, Inc.; and Sun-Maid are among those that have dropped the Smart Choices logo voluntarily, according to an Oct. 29 press release from Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general of Connecticut who began an independent investigation into the Smart Choices program in mid-October.
Blumenthal questioned the program's methods in the same press release. "My investigation into Smart Choices, now supported by the FDA, continues to seek any scientific research or evidence behind a program that promotes mayonnaise, sugar-loaded cereal and ice cream as Smart Choices," he said.
Blumenthal emphasized the importance of providing consumers with accurate information in an earlier press release. "At a time when healthcare efforts rightly focus on prevention of obesity and malnutrition, false and misleading labels may derail, destroy and delay such laudable national goals," Blumenthal said. "Meaningful nutritional information is welcome, but not faux food facts."
However, Hughes, president for science and public policy at the Keystone Center, defended the suspended program in his press release. "[The program] was designed to provide a voluntary front-of-package labeling program that could promote informed food choices and help consumers construct healthier diets," he said. "We continue to believe the Smart Choices Program is an important step in the right direction."
The controversial program may have been suspended, but some see it as a beneficial starting point for discussions about food labeling among nutrition specialists.
"It seems like some good will come out of the controversy it has spurred," said Sara Folta, assistant professor at the Friedman School. "Ideally, a labeling system would provide easily understandable, accurate information that will allow consumers to make comparisons between and among different foods. In my opinion, the best system would not only include packaged foods but would allow consumers to clearly identify the health and nutritional benefits of whole foods."
Christine Fennelly, Tufts' director of public relations for the health sciences campuses, stressed that Tufts has no connection with Smart Choices.
"Dr. Kennedy participated in the process as a nutrition scientist, independent of her role at Tufts. Tufts University is not involved in the Smart Choices Program," Fennelly said.
