FDA Warns Candy Maker Over Health Claims

WASHINGTONAfter reviewing the label for Goetze's Caramel Creams Double Chocolate, FDAs Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition on March 4 issued a warning letter to Baltimore-based Goetze's Candy Co. Inc. for violation of FD&C Act 403(r)(1)(A), which addresses nutrition levels and health-related claims.

"The product makes a nutrient content claim but does not meet the criteria to make the claim," the letter stated. FDA took exception to the "Fortified with Calcium" nutrient content claim because candy is a snack food and those cannot be fortified under federal regulations.

Other areas of concern included serving sizes, average servings per container and some product description. Your product bears the term Double Chocolate and chocolate as a characterizing flavor. However, the product is flavored only with cocoa. Because a consumer could reasonably expect there to be a chocolate ingredient in a chocolate candy product, but this product contains cocoa as the sole source of chocolate flavoring, the term chocolate should be qualified with the word flavored on the product label," the letter stated.

Click here to read the complete letter.