Nut bars behemoth Kind wants the FDA to change food labeling protocol

• Kind appeals to the FDA to alter the way it regulates food labels.
• The renowned nut bars maker was previously engaged in a row with the FDA over the use of the word ‘healthy’ on its packs.

Kind, the renowned maker of nut bars, has reportedly filed a petition this Wednesday requesting the Food and Drug Administration to alter how it controls claims on food labels.

Sources close to the development claim that this petition marks the latest development in the ongoing combat regarding food labeling. In the Food and Drug Administration’s 2018 roadmap framed by outbound Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, the regulatory body claimed that it intends to aid customers in making more informed dietetic decisions. Citing an instance for the same, the agency is pondering over changes as to how plant-based dairy alternatives can utilize dairy terminologies after milk manufacturers and others in the industry raised complaints that buyers were confused.

Market analysts cite that this is not the first instance when Kind has filed an appeal for agency reconsideration over food labeling. In 2015, FDA asked the nut bars maker to stop utilizing the word healthy on its website and packaging, as those products surpass the maximum total fat or saturated fat amount admissible for consumption, said analysts.

As per Mintel data, about half of the customers are purchasing more healthy food now in comparison to a year ago. As Americans increasingly shop for healthy food, more brands aspire to cash in by endorsing their offerings as nutritious and healthy, and Kind is one among them. 

Daniel Lubetzky, the Chief Executive Officer and founder of Kind, was quoted stating that it should not be masquerading as a healthy food when it is actually just an empty calorie, Frankenstein kind of food.

As per sources close to the development, unhealthy foods will also be needed to disclose excessive amounts of added sugar, sodium or saturated fat upfront on their packaging.