Heart Assn. to Discontinue Food Labeling Program

The American Heart Assn., under pressure from the federal government, has decided to discontinue a food labeling program designed to help consumers quickly identify products considered best for the prevention of heart disease, a spokesman said today.

The HeartGuide program, an attempt by the heart association to identify and label low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-sodium foods, came under attack by the federal Food and Drug Administration, which opposes endorsements by non-government groups.

“The FDA has made it clear it is against third-party endorsements,” Howard Lewis, director of health and science news for the heart association, said today. “The government’s only concern was that they did not like third-party organizations entering into an area where they had legal responsibility.”

Lewis emphasized that only the labeling program will end. Nutrition education and other aspects of the program will continue.

The program was launched in January.

HeartGuide was proposed in 1987 as an attempt to uniformly identify foods with certain levels of cholesterol, fat and sodium.

The foods were to be identified with a HeartGuide seal of approval--a heart with a check mark--on the package.

Consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, expressed concern that consumers would be lulled by the label into believing that HeartGuide-approved foods were actually health foods. Those groups also complained about the fairness of the ratings.

The heart association planned to charge between $15,000 and $600,000 a year to companies participating in the program. The fees were to be used for a toll-free hot line and nutrition awareness programs, the association said.

Lewis said independent labs performed the food analyses after companies submitted applications to have foods considered.

He said the heart association is encouraged that the FDA plans to overhaul the government’s labeling program.

“The FDA has stated a commitment now to completely change the way food labeling is done in the country and to challenge and get rid of and set standards for such claims as low cholesterol, high fiber, ‘lite,’ things like that,” Lewis said. “We’re very happy that after 17 years, the government will move ahead--17 years after promises to do something about food labeling.”