FDA rules on tomato product claims

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Nov 12th 2005 @ 8:09AM

According to a recent decision by the Food and Drug Administration, companies like H.J. Heinz Co. can continue to tout the alleged cancer-fighting properties of their tomato-based products. Tomatoes contain the antioxidant lycopene, thought by many to help fight certain cancers. Heinz, maker of Classico pasta sauces, can now link products such as that to reduced risk of gastric, ovarian, pancreatic and prostate cancers.

At the same time, the FDA rejected requests for the use of similar claims by supplement companies.

In a recent Boston Globe article, NYU nutrition professor and food politics sage Marion Nestle responded to the FDA’s decision with much skepticism, saying that it was little more than a way of marketing ketchup as health food.

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Tags: condiments