It’s no surprise that in this confusing environment, with millions of patients desperate for help, some companies have taken advantage of how loosely dietary supplement claims are regulated to sell unproven long COVID treatments.
CSPI supports the Predatory Marketing Prevention Act (PMPA), an important public health measure, and we support
its goal of helping New York curb misleading food industry marketing.
When adults watched TV ads depicting a group of people eating, they responded more favorably and gave the advertised foods higher ratings than when the ads showed one person eating alone. (The researchers played the ads in random order.)
Eat healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and yogurt, say health experts. So food companies create processed foods that seem to fit the bill. In the supermarket, every day is April 1st.
Health sells. So ad agencies tap into—or amp up—the latest fads and fears about food. Want more energy, protein, or hydration? Avoiding carbs, gluten, or lactose? Should you avoid them? You can’t dodge the hype. But you can not fall for it. Here’s the latest crop.
Food LabelingLindsay Moyer, MS, RDN, Bonnie Liebman, MS
It’s a jungle out there. Unproven claims litter the landscape. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Nutrition Action’s publisher, is trying to clean things up.
"Immunity.” “Protein.” “Probiotic.” “Superfruit.” looking for a way to stand out in the crowd...“Multigrain.” “Simply.” “Made with.” Lately, it seems like food marketers' bag of healthyish buzzwords is bursting at the seams. Are they looking for a way to stand out in the crowd...or just trying to distract shoppers from their refined flour, sugar, or empty calories.
Cereals. Snack bars. Muffins. Juices. Trail Mixes. Teas. Cheeses. “Wellness” shots. Walk down just about any aisle in the supermarket, and you can’t miss the growing number of foods sprouting “probiotics” claims.
Why? Companies want you to believe that a chocolate bar or sausage link or whatever that contains “beneficial” bacteria is healthier than one that doesn’t. Spoiler: It isn’t.
