ConsumerWatch: Study Calls Food Labels Deceptive

(CBS 5) – All over the grocery store, you see products labeled with healthy ingredients. But a recent study released by the Strategic Alliance finds 84 percent of those labels are deceptive.

During the three-month study, nutrition and health experts examined 58 products marketed as healthy for kids. Many did not meet the basic nutrient criteria. Sims with The Prevention Institute said many families are being misled by these products.

In fact the study revealed more then half the products marketed as good for you were high in sugar, and almost all of them contained sugar. Half of the products were also low on fiber and about a quarter of were high in saturated fat and sodium.

The Prevention Institute is hoping the Food and Drug Administration will step in. The FDA currently regulates the nutrition information on the side of the food packaging but there are no uniform labeling standards for the front of the boxes.

The grocery industry is set to release self regulated standards by next month.

"Its like the fox guarding the hen house, they have a specific interest in mind," Sims said.

Sims also points out the grocery industry current self regulation allows packaging such as Capri Sun to be called a fruit drink with only 10 percent fruit juice. The Grocery Manufacturers Association did not return calls by CBS 5 ConsumerWatch. But the organization's website states its members have changed more than 20,000 recipes to reduce fats, sugar, calories and sodium.

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