U.S. Sees No Percentage In Food Content Labeling

"Just giving a complete recipe list has problems for enforcement and it may not be the product consumers are purchasing," said Leslye M. Fraser , the U.S. delegate to the Codex Committee on Food Labelling and director of regulations and policy for FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition . Fraser suggested it is unreasonable to think the FDA could enforce the requirement.

In addition to existing labeling rules, there are federal "standards of identity" for many common foods that stipulate how much of an ingredient must be included in the product.

The only requirement in the United States for percentage labeling covers juices (producers requested this), peanut spreads, olive oil, meat on frozen pizza and shrimp cocktail.

"Our member companies universally oppose percentage ingredient labeling," said Peggy Rochette , senior director of international affairs at the Food Products Association , which represents processed and packed food manufacturers.

Rochette, who is also a member of the U.S. delegation, said percentage labeling is technically difficult because it is hard to be accurate, it's expensive, and it "puts unnecessary information on the label not related to health, safety, product use, or other material facts like nutrition." She said for products with limited ingredients, "it's viewed as formula information."

The Grocery Manufacturers of America also is fighting the proposed standard, saying the information will not drive purchasing decisions. "This doesn't prove a product is safer or has more quality," said Monica L. Gonzalez , director of scientific and regulatory policy for the trade group.

Robert Garfield , executive director of the National Frozen Pizza Institute in McLean, used pepperoni pizza to make a point. He said a survey done last fall showed consumers ranked quality and taste first in their purchasing decisions -- not the amount of meat on the pie. Besides, too much pepperoni can make the pizza oily, he said.

Silverglade said opposition is intense because developing countries, where big multinational food companies see much of their growth, are more inclined to adopt a labeling standard instead of creating one of their own. "This is the wave of the future as trade and regulation becomes more global," Silverglade said.

So if labeling by percentage one day became a Codex standard, domestic companies operating internationally likely would be counting the raisins in their raisin bran.