US snack bar firm Kind LLC has breached rules on making health claims on its products, the country’s Food and Drug Administration has revealed.
The FDA looked at four lines and found they broke regulations on health claims and on the listing of ingredients.
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In a letter published yesterday (14 April), William Correll, Jr., director for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told Kind CEO Daniel Lubetsky the company had 15 working days to respond with corrective action or to give reasons why it could take longer to provide redress.
Among the violations, the FDA said Kind was making nutrient content claims on products that did not meet the requirements to match the assertions. The regulator said Kind was making “an implied nutrient content claim” on four bars by using the phrase “healthy and tasty, convenient and wholesome” on the labels.
The FDA said Kind could not say the bars were “healthy” as they contain higher-than-permitted levels of saturated fat. Elsewhere, online marketing for Kind’s peanut butter dark chocolate and protein bar was found to have breached rules for saying the product was “antioxidant rich”.
In response, Kind said it would look to meet the FDA’s order but defended its use of the word “healthy”.
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By GlobalData“Nuts, key ingredients in many of our snacks and one of the things that make fans love our bars, contain nutritious fats that exceed the amount allowed under the FDA’s standard. There is an overwhelming body of scientific evidence supporting that nuts are wholesome and nutritious. This is similar to other foods that do not meet the standard for use of the term healthy, but are generally considered to be good for you like avocados, salmon and eggs. Our team at Kind is fully committed to working alongside the FDA, and we’re moving quickly to comply with its request,” a Kind spokesperson.
