Fwd: [S-A] FDA removes label warning of fake fat

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" Misty L. Trepke "

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 01:03:02 -0000

[s-A] FDA removes label warning of fake fat

 

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Misty L. Trepke

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FDA removes label warning of fake fat

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

Associated Press

 

WASHINGTON -- Snacks made with the fake fat olestra no longer have

to bear the unappetizing label warning they might cause cramps and

diarrhea.

 

The Food and Drug Administration lifted the warning Friday,

concluding that if the zero-calorie fat substitute has any stomach-

troubling effect, it's mild and rare.

 

The FDA approved olestra's sale in 1996, as long as packages bore

labels spelling out possible gastrointestinal side effects. The

synthetic chemical made of sugar and soybeans tastes like fat but

passes through the body undigested.

 

The warning caused a slight uproar and helped limit olestra's slower-

than-anticipated sales.

 

The consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public

Interest repeatedly urged the FDA to remove olestra from the market,

noting embarrassing episodes it had caused some consumers. The FDA

received about 20,000 reports of gastrointestinal complaints among

olestra eaters.

 

But olestra maker Procter & Gamble argued that the fake fat was safe

and the complaints a coincidence -- after all, the company said,

stomach upset and diarrhea are very common.

 

Friday, the FDA said it was convinced by a study that tracked how

3,000 people felt after eating chips during a six-week period. Half

ate chips with olestra, and half ate chips they thought contained

olestra but really didn't, said FDA food additive chief George

Pauli.

 

The olestra eaters had only slightly more frequent bowel movements

than the people who ate full-fat chips, he said.

 

Of more concern to FDA were that people had falsely attributed

serious health problems to olestra because of the warning label.

Pauli cited people who blamed olestra for abdominal pain that turned

out to be appendicitis and others who had weeks of diarrhea from

intestinal viruses.

 

The FDA's decision is " a mistake that will inflict needless misery,

inconvenience and embarrassment for countless Americans, " said the

Center for Science in the Public Interest.

 

The fake fat is used in P & G's Fat-Free Pringles, Frito-Lay's WOW!

snacks and Utz's Yes! brand of potato chips. P & G said Americans have

eaten more than 3 billion servings of snacks that contained olestra

since 1996.

 

Because olestra is undigested, it inhibits absorption of a few fat-

clinging vitamins. FDA requires manufacturers to add vitamins A, D,

E and K to products made with olestra to counter that effect. That

requirement will continue.

 

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2024134