FDA removes label warning of fake fat

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> Misty L. Trepke

> http://www..com

>

> 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