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Feb. 6, 1999: An AP dispatch says wine makers are now allowed to make either of two statements on their bottle labels:
(1) "The proud people who made this wine encourage you to consult your family doctor about the health effects of wine consumption."
(2) "To learn the health effects of wine consumption, send for the federal government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans." (Mailing address follows.)
AP: "The approval is not an endorsement by the government but a reflection of the finding that the statements are neither false nor misleading." This permission came from the Treasury Department, overseeing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, not from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
The FDA, as we understand it, still believes it has authority to label anything it chooses as a "drug" and that public statements about drugs, by anyone involved in sales--truthful or not, misleading or not--are illegal without specific FDA approval--even a citation of the scientific literature. Nevertheless, you can go to almost any health food store--and even many pharmacies and grocery markets--and find scads of herbal and other products, with "claims" express or implied, that have not been approved by the FDA.
Some of us (unofficially) have a simple suggestion for the legislators. Make it mandatory for purveyors of health products (whether "foods" or "drugs") to print on the label (and in advertising) any statement or recommendation the FDA chooses to make, but at the same time eliminate any authority of the FDA to restrict the label or advertising in any other way.