by Heidi Kyser

As part of a front-of-package labeling initiative, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned 17 companies that their products are in violation of regulations concerning nutrition information and health claims. Among those admonished are some huge names in the food and beverage industry, such as Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, Gorton's, and Schwan's Consumer Brands, along with two tea makers.

In addition, FDA Commissioner of Food and Drugs Margaret Hamburg issued an open letter to her industry clarifying the administration's expectations and stressing how important it is that food and drug companies provide consumers with reliable information.

Altogether, the 17 companies specifically warned were responsible for 22 products. Among them are three tea products:

• Salada Naturally Decaffeinated Green Tea, manufactured by Redco Foods
• Dr. Lee's TeaForHealth 710-EGCG in a Bottle Green Tea, manufactured by Fleminger, Inc.
• TeaForHealth 710-EGCG Ready-to-Drink Natural Brewed Green Tea, manufactured by Fleminger, Inc.

In a letter dated Feb. 22 to Douglas N. Farrell, general manager of Redco Foods, the FDA's Department of Health and Human Services said that Salada Naturally Decaffeinated Green Tea was promoted "for conditions that cause them to be drugs" according to existing law. The letter cited articles titled, "A Steaming Cup of Medicine" and "The Origins of Tea" on www.greentea.com, which contain claims such as "green tea can ... inhibit the cancer process at virtually every stage, regulate cholesterol levels ... and ward off viruses, fungi and food-borne bacteria."

The warning letter explained that the health claims made on the green tea Web site were prohibited, because "there is no health claim authorized by regulation or the Act that provides for health claims that characterize the relationship between green tea and cardiovascular disease." The letter went on to outline several unauthorized nutrient content claims, such as one stating that the tea contains "antioxidants," which are not appropriately demonstrated to be present in the product at required levels.

Farrell had not returned a call seeking comment by the time this article was published. The page titled "Health Articles" on Salada's Web site was blank, but other sections of the site did contain statements about the tea's antioxidant properties.

In the Feb. 22 letter to Dr. Lee, dba Dr. Lee's TeaForHealth (Fleminger), the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition stated that the FDA had reviewed the company's Web sites at www.teaforhealth.com and www.greenteahaus.com and found that they included unapproved new drugs, made unauthorized health claims and unauthorized nutrient content claims, and used false or misleading labeling.

An example of the unauthorized health claims the FDA alleged Fleminger made is that "high consumption of green tea (is) associated with reduced cancer rates of the breast, esophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, pancreas, urinary bladder, prostate, lung, liver and ovary..." The letter noted that in June 2005 the FDA had already communicated to the company its concerns about scientific evidence for such claims.

Calls to all phone numbers listed on TeaForHealth's Web site were met with busy signals, and Dr. Lee had not responded to an e-mail seeking comment by press time. The "Benefits of Green Tea" page on the company's Web site stated, "Green tea has tremendous health benefits," footnoted with a disclaimer that the FDA had not evaluated this statement, and that the product was not intended "to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."

The FDA gave both Redco and Fleminger 15 working days to explain how they planned to correct their violations. "Failure to do so may result in enforcement action without further notice," the letters stated. The FDA's Siobhan DeLancey told WTN that the administration would do its best to work with the companies and bring them into compliance. Consequences for failure to respond to the warning, she added, could include "fines, product seizure, that type of thing."

DeLancey said two companies had responded to the warnings, but she was not permitted to divulge what their responses were.

In a statement, Hamburg said, "Today, ready access to reliable information about the calorie and nutrient content of food is even more important, given the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases in the United States."

Tea was not the only functional beverage among those targeted by the warning. Others included two of Nestle's Juicy Juice fruit drinks, POM Wonderful's 100% Pomegranate Juice and First Juice's Organic Fruit and Veggie Juice Beverage products.