Yeah. Right.
I am starting to think that unless something is made entirely of chemicals that have been extensively tested on kittens, and found to cause no less than 18 different health problems in at least 50% of the population, that the government will find _something_ wrong with it somewhere along the line.
NightMist
Oh good grief. Someone at the top of the FDA needs to direct their focus to more important things - such as whether foods contain melamine or rat poison. Wonder why they haven't noticed that Quaker Oats makes the same cholesterol lowering claim? Polly
My guess would be it has something to do with campaign contributions to somebody at some point or lack there of. You want to mess things up put some arm of the govt. in the middle of it. I guess more regulations printed on the side of cereal boxes would mean different reading material. I just had a thought. If Cheerios are a prescription will they be on the formulary? Will walmart sell us a months worth for $4 ? I really like the honey nut cheerios. They probably have mostly sugar and little honey. The govt. wanst to tax sugar products. Wonder how that would all work out. This is all pretty wacky. Taria
Polly Esther wrote:
I don't think that's the point here. The point is that by saying it lowers cholesterol et cetera, the FDA is saying "this product WHICH DOES NOT HAVE TO BE TESTED, AS YOU CALL IT A FOOD is being actually MARKETED AS A MEDICAL TREATMENT."
Bottom line is you can't have it both ways: if you want to claim your product (whether Cheerios or Betty's Framizams or whatever) has medical benefits, you have to submit it to testing by the FDA as a medication. If you claim it's exempt because it's a food or a supplement or what have you, you cannot then claim it has medical benefits. Because those claims then stand untested and unproven by anyone.
--pig
Don't see my earlier response appear so I'll try to repeat. The FDA truly needs more guidance at the top. They should be focused on what foods make it to market that contain melamine or rat poison or who knows what. I don't have a problem with Cheerios and also Quaker Oats whose home company is located in Chicago claiming cholesterol lowering ability. Kinda straining at gnats methinks. Aren't you proud I remembered how to spell gnats? Polly
"Megan Zurawicz" I don't think that's the point here. The point is that by saying it lowers
The FDA decided that low fat foods that contained sufficient oat bran to qualify could indeed use that labling back in 1997.
NightMist Now I have to go get more wedding finery out of the wash and ironed... What day of the week is this? I am behinder than I want to be.
The problem is, where do you draw the line?
Frosted Flakes cures cancer? Is that okay to claim?
If not, why not? What's the difference?
That sort of claims by products that aren't tested for or regulated for what they claim is one of the reasons we got the FDA in the first place: there's a risk if you accept that it's okay to tell someone "got high cholesterol? Ignore your doctor telling you you need to change your diet; ignore your doctor telling you you need to take a prescription. Just eat Cheerios, that's all you need." And of course that risk is that people will follow such claims to their deaths rather than get the treatment they need.
The point of the story isn't "Cheerios need to be prescription." The point is "you can't make medicinal claims for your product without it being tested." If the line isn't drawn, you have open quackery----which is in part what got us the FDA in the first place.
--pig
So I wonder what's next. All foods that claim the help with heart desease are to be tested by the FDA. Will all those butter substitutes, fish, fish oil, etc. come from the pharmacy instead of the grocery store. Can you imagine going to the doctor for a grocery list.
OOPS there goes the medical insurance payments and god forbid those of us on that dirty word Medicare, will get our groceries paid for by Medicare or Medicaid.
Maybe the government should study their history of cereals. Kelloggs brothers started making cereals to be used as "brain food" for their mental patients.
Kate T. South Mississippi
Where oh where was the FDA when baby formula was loaded with killer stuff? Nevermind. I know. They were writing letters to Cheerios. What's wrong with this picture? Polly
Kate wrote > So I wonder what's next. All foods that claim the help with heart
Well, as I haven't had my breakfast yet, I will have a bowl of Honey Cheerios, in defiance of ridiculous assertions! . In message , NightMist writes
Taria, are your Honey Cheerios still 'Honey Nut? I have noticed that ours are now only 'Honey', presumably because of the high incidence of nut allergy? There is still the caution about 'made in a factory where nuts are also used in production', but there are no nuts in the ingredients any more? (I love them too). . In message , Taria writes
They waste their time and our money on the stupidest things! I've known this almost 30 years when I read they spent 6 months trying to figure out which came out ketsoup of the bottle fastest. At the time I wanted THAT job! Does anyone else remember the "oat bran" debacle? No - let's not spend our money on birth defects or cancer etc! But we can blame our politicians all we want - we elect these people! Geez - me being political!!
Judy from Mass
The worst part of this, though, is Cheerios - or whoever - will somehow get to that doctor and tell HIM/HER to tell you to eat those Cheerios, not because of the FDA, but the company propaganda itself!
(If I hear one more about Miralax...! It used to be Colace. And that purple pill - they were pushing that big time a few years ago. If we have all these problems we probably need a prescription that for some anyway is covered under insurance instead of all this OTC stuff and guessing games. OTC gets expensive!
Judy from Mass
Organic foods contribute to a healthy well-being... and help prevent cancers caused by the harmful pesticides/herbicides used in traditional farming.... does that mean that all organic foods are drugs?
Bananas are excellent sources of potassium. A diet that contains sufficient amounts of potassium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Are bananas drugs??
Blueberries - New research suggests blueberries are a great way to naturally lower risk factors for cancers. Does that mean that blueberries are drugs??
Chocolate - Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body. Does that mean chocolate is a drug??
Red Wine - In the mean-time Newsweek recently reported 4 more reasons to drink red wine (in moderation): * It can keep you fit; * It may help fight Alzheimer?s; * It boosts heart healthy Omega 3 levels; * It may lower lung cancer risk.
Please remember when it comes to any alcoholic intake?you must act responsibly. Too much of a good thing can be bad. With all the negatives surrounding alcohol/wine uses and abuses -- they pick Cheerios to make a point of? Why not challenge the Wine Makers -- or require FDA approval on wines?
When you turn on the news and hear report after report of the growing deficit... it burns me to no end when I read that my (and your!!) federal tax dollars are being spent on things like this. I would much rather have taken the value of the time of each federal employee involved in preparing that report.... and used those $$ to buy Cheerios... and fill the local food banks.
Why isn't the FDA addressing the high cost of drugs -- and why so many senior citizens do not take their meds because they cannot afford them? When will people wake up and address the REAL problems that plague us today?
Okay -- off my soapbox... but come on people... Cheerios is a drug? How can anyone say that with a straight face?
So.... if I eat blueberries and drink wine then I don't have to quit smoking? How 'bout blueberry wine???
Leslie (with tongue firmly in cheek!) & The Furbabies in MO.
From all of us that care about you: YOU NEED TO QUIT SMOKING YESTERDAY. That is yelling and nagging. Put the damn cigs down. You can do it. for those that love you please do it. Taria
Leslie& The Furbabies > So.... if I eat blueberries and drink wine then I don't have to quit
Exactly how I see it. It's all so dumb. The FDA said then that products containing X amount of oat bran could make the claim that they "may reduce cholesterol when combined with a lowfat diet." IIRC that's what the Cheerios commercial does say. So all this bruhah is because someone *might* think it's a miracle cure and thus, instead of bothering to see a doc, just decides to eat Cheerios instead? I mean, really. Who does that? The same people who iron their clothes while wearing them?
Sherry
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