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The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning last week in which it told the company that manufactures the Kind Bars to correct the labels of their products that said words like “healthy”, “no trans fat”, “plus”, “good source of fiber” and “ rich in antioxidants”.
Although Kind said that the labels on their products were not in conformity with the FDA standards, the company contested the agency’s notion of “healthy”, calling it “narrow”.
Kind defended its products saying that the key ingredients in their snack bars are nuts, and nuts are a healthy food recommended by all the nutritionists.
They wrote in an official blog post that nuts contain a nutritious type of fat that exceeds the amount approved by the FDA.
It’s the same problem with other foods that are considered to be good for people, like eggs, salmon or avocados, but do not meet the standard of using the term “healthy” on the labels.
According to experts in nutrition from the Harvard School of Public Health, nuts are very high in nutritious unsaturated fats, which are recommended to be consumed instead of unhealthy refined carbohydrates and sugar.
Nutritionists recommend the consumption of nuts because they can lower the risk of heart disease and can help keep the cholesterol at a healthy level.
However, nuts are also high in other types of fats that are not as nutritious.
According to the FDA standards, in order for a food product to be allowed to use the term “healthy” on its label, it needs to contain less than 1gr of saturated fat per serving.
Four varieties of Kind Bars contain more than 2.5 grams of saturated fat, which is the reason why FDA told the company to remove the term “healthy” from the packages.
The Kind Bars varieties sanctioned by the FDA are: Fruit & Nut Almond & Apricot, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants, Almond & Coconut, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein.
In its letter, FDA told Kind Bars to stop using the terms “antioxidant-rich” and “plus” because their products are not nutritious enough to be called this way.
The FDA also disagrees with Kind Bars’ use of terms like “no trans fats” and “good source of fiber”, saying that that by using these terms they are implying that the bars are healthy.
According to the FDA, the violations are pretty serious and if Kind Bars fails to comply with these changes, their products will be taken off the shelves.
Image Source: hercampus
