The maker of Kind bars is asking the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider how it regulates nutrient content claims on food labels. The nutbar company filed a petition Wednesday with the FDA.
The issue stems in part from the use of the word “healthy.” Kind had previously used the word on its labels; however, in 2015 the FDA requested it to stop, specifically because its bars exceed the maximum amount of total fat or saturated fat allowed on products that make that claim, NBC News reports.
While Kind complied with the request, it also filed a petition with the agency regarding the decision, stating that “healthy” was not a specific nutritional claim and should be allowed on the bar’s labels. Also since a good amount of the fat in the bars comes from nuts, which are high in healthy fats, it felt that the agency’s rules were outdated.
In 2016, the FDA reversed its position on Kind using “healthy” on its labels, and now the company is asking the group to take things a step further and regulate which brands are able to make claims like “low sodium” or “good source of calcium” on their labels.
Should it agree with Kind, we could see a significant change in how foods are labeled going forward, ultimately making it easier for consumers to distinguish between a true “healthy” snack and one that just claims to be.
