[eXpat]

FDA Says Walnuts Are Drugs and Doritos Are Heart Healthy
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to Diamond Foods stating that their claims for the health promoting qualities of walnuts have moved them from a food to a drug. At the same time, it allows Frito-Lay to advertise its health-destroying chips (crisps in the UK) as "heart healthy".

This is an attack on both your health and your right to free speech. The FDA is not interested in the science. It's not interested in your health. It's not interested in the truth. It's interested only in supporting its corporate masters. To this end, it uses its massive power to shut down the truth and ignore blatant lies when it's beneficial to big corporate players.

Here's an excerpt from the FDA's letter to Diamond Foods:Diamond Foods' Walnut Claims

Based on claims made on your firm's website, we have determined that your walnut products are promoted for conditions that cause them to be drugs because these products are intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease. The following are examples of the claims made on your firm's website under the heading of a web page stating "OMEGA-3s ... Every time you munch a few walnuts, you're doing your body a big favor.":

• "Studies indicate that the omega-3 fatty acids found in walnuts may help lower cholesterol; protect against heart disease, stroke and some cancers; ease arthritis and other inflammatory diseases; and even fight depression and other mental illnesses."

• "[O]mega-3 fatty acids inhibit the tumor growth that is promoted by the acids found in other fats ... "

• "[I]n treating major depression, for example, omega-3s seem to work by making it easier for brain cell receptors to process mood-related signals from neighboring neurons." • "The omega-3s found in fish oil are thought to be responsible for the significantly lower incidence of breast cancer in Japanese women as compared to women in the United States."

Because of these intended uses, your walnut products are drugs

Presto ChangeOh! The FDA has magically transformed walnuts into a drug. Neat trick if you can pull it off—and at this point, they can. The FDA has sent out hundreds of these extortionate letters to food producers big and small.

[mos6507]

It's trying to crack down on health claims on packaging. This is an impossible task, BTW. Health claims surrounding food are rampant. We're in a snake-oil era. I mean just tune into AM radio on the weekends and get nothing but infomercials about nutritional supplements.

[dinopello]

Here is the whole letter.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he back of your product label also bears the following statement: "The omega-3 in walnuts can help you get the proper balance of fatty acids your body needs for promoting and maintaining heart health. In fact, according to the Food and Drug Administration, supportive but not conclusive research shows that eating 1.5 oz of walnuts per day, as part of a low saturated fat and low cholesterol diet, and not resulting in increased caloric intake, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Please refer to nutrition information for fat content and other details about the nutritional profile of walnuts." Although FDA exercises enforcement discretion over the last two sentences of this statement, which meet the criteria for a qualified health claim for walnuts and coronary heart disease, the last two sentences read in conjunction with the first sentence makes the entire statement an unauthorized health claim.

The statement suggests that the evidence supporting a relationship between walnuts and coronary heart disease is related to the omega-3 fatty acid content of walnuts. There is not sufficient evidence to identify a biologically active substance in walnuts that reduces the risk of CHD. Therefore, the above statement is an unauthorized health claim. This letter is not intended to be an inclusive review of your products and their labeling. It is your responsibility to ensure that all of your products comply with the Act and its implementing regulations.

[Sixstrings]

Hm.. sure looks like processed food companies contributed more to Obama than these evil purveyors of unprocessed walnuts. God forbid Americans eat whole, unprocessed food.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'H')m.. sure looks like processed food companies contributed more to Obama

[Novus]

I think we live in pretty scary times where whole unprocessed foods might end up being outlawed. Eat healthy well you are drug using criminal now.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Novus', 'I') think we live in pretty scary times where whole unprocessed foods might end up being outlawed. Eat healthy well you are drug using criminal now.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'H')m.. sure looks like processed food companies contributed more to Obama

[dinopello]

The Walnut thing has been going on since at least 2004. Then, the FDA reviewed health claim attempts by the California Walnut Commission. You can read it for yourself, but it seems to me that Diamond drew the ire of the FDA by referencing them but also adding some of their own language that probably inflated the health benefits (according to the FDA). If they would have left their claim more vague, like the makers of that Extenz product, they would have not received a letter I bet.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '
')No,

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dinopello', 'I')f they would have left their claim more vague, like the makers of that Extenz product, they would have not received a letter I bet.

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '
')No, but I bet former processed food lobbyists now in Obama's administration very much concern themselves with this sort of thing.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mos6507', 'A')nd let's face it, aside from snake oil, foods didn't used to be marketed as tonics, and probably shouldn't be. Leave it to people to do their own research.