FDA recently told Kind LLC that it may label its fruit-and-nut snack bars as "healthy and tasty" as long as the phrase is clearly framed as part of its corporate philosophy and not as a nutritional statement, and the phrase does not appear on the same display panel as nutrient content claims or nutrition information. This move closes out FDA's earlier warning to the company, where the Agency found four Kind products to be "misbranded" due to the fact that their labels made nutrient content claims the products did not satisfy. Specifically, FDA argued that although the Kind labels claimed the products were "healthy and tasty" (suggesting that the product could be useful in maintaining healthy dietary practices), none of the products met the requirements for use of the nutrient content claim "healthy." With its decision to Kind, FDA also confirmed that it plans to reevaluate regulations concerning nutrient content claims generally, including the term "healthy." FDA's decision follows a Citizen Petition filed by Kind last December, which requested that FDA: (i) fully reevaluate its nutrient content claim regulations to ensure consistency with federal dietary recommendations; (ii) define "dietary guidance statement" more broadly; and (iii) clarify its regulations for "general nutritional claims" and "label statements that are not implied claims." FDA currently allows use of the term "healthy" on food labels if the product meets certain conditions for fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and other nutrient levels.
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