Action Alert
Help End the Dairy Industry’s
Misleading Ad Campaign
Please help PCRM put an end to a multimillion-dollar national
advertising campaign falsely claiming that consuming milk and other
dairy products leads to weight loss
On July 29, 2005, PCRM filed a consumer
complaint with the Food and Drug Administration, alerting
FDA that certain dairy products manufactured by Dannon, General
Mills, and McNeil Nutritionals (the maker of Lactaid) are labeled
with the false and misleading claims that dairy consumption promotes
weight and fat loss. In the complaint, PCRM asked FDA to declare
all such products as “misbranded,” to institute a product
recall, and to require these manufacturers to publish corrective
ads and food labels.
FDA considers the total number of complaints
it has received on a subject as a factor in determining whether
to take action on a matter raised in a consumer complaint. Therefore,
we encourage you to send your own consumer complaint to FDA.
Your complaint will be more persuasive if it is polite and if it
is written in your own words. A sample complaint is provided below,
which you should feel free to personalize.
Your complaint should begin with the proper heading for
a formal letter, directed to Felicia Satchell at the address
below, followed by an opening paragraph describing the nature
of your complaint.
|
Your Name
Your Street
Your City, State, and Zip Code |
Date
Felicia Satchell, Staff Director
Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition
Office of Nutritional Products Labeling and Dietary
Supplements (HFS-820)
5100 Paint Branch Parkway
College Park, MD 27040
Re: Consumer
Complaint Regarding False and Misleading Dairy Weight Loss Claims
Dear Ms. Satchell:
I am writing to ask FDA to investigate the labeling
of certain dairy products made by Dannon (Light ‘n Fit nonfat yogurt),
General Mills (Yoplait “Original” and “Thick & Creamy” yogurt),
and McNeil Nutritionals (Lactaid Whole Milk, Reduced Fat Milk,
Lowfat Milk, and Fat Free Milk). These dairy product manufacturers
are making the false health claims on their product labels that
consuming three servings of dairy per day leads to weight and fat
loss.
You could add additional information to help FDA make
its decision:
- Neither FDA nor any other authorized scientific body has approved
these health claims.
- The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which developed
the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,
found that “there
is insufficient evidence” linking the consumption of “milk
products and the management of body weight.”
- The
body of scientific evidence, including almost all
of the emerging science, shows that adding dairy products
to the diet does nothing whatsoever for weight
control; in some cases, it encourages weight gain.
- The only
studies that show any relationship between dairy consumption
and weight or fat loss are those done by Michael Zemel,
Ph.D., whose studies have been funded by the dairy industry,
who profits from a patent he holds on the dairy weight loss treatment
method, and who uses questionable research methods
- The dairy weight
loss diet being promoted requires the consumer to reduce
daily calorie intake by 500 calories and it is this reduction
in calories that causes weight loss, not the dairy products.
Your complaint should end with a summary of the actions
you would like to see FDA take.
The health claims on these products are false and misleading, so any
labels making these claims should be prohibited so consumers do not
continue to be misled.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Posted 8/29/05
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