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Slog1

Michelle Slog

English 1102-041

Caruso

11 April 2013

Response Letter to the FDA about Misleading Labels

The genre I used for his assignment is a letter addressed to my main audience, the Food

and Drug Administration. This was the most effective approach to get my points across because

my research and information is directed straight to the source of the problem. This letter from an

angry consumer is mainly complaining about the food labeling standards the FDA upholds

among foods and medications. In addition, it also suggests how they can make effective

alterations to improve their regulations. My purpose of this letter is to provide concrete

arguments about the FDA’s poor labeling in order for them to reevaluate their standards.

Initially I am responding to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is where I found

most of my information. Throughout the letter, I then provide other sources in which serve as

additional evidence to support my cause. This letter directed to the Food and Drug

Administration also contains my own personal experiences with false labeling along with highly

supportive recordable sources.

"Food Labeling." Center for Science in the Public Interest . N.p., 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.

<http://www.cspinet.org/foodlabeling/>.

Nora Shafer 4/9/13 10:06 AM

Comment [1]: LookattheformatoftheMe

again:ItshouldbeMemo:(thenwritememoh

thenyoushouldhavethetitleofyourletter

followedbytheMLAcitationofthepiecethaty

arerespondingtoandtheURLlink.Makesure

don’tindentfortheMemo.



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469 Miller Avenue

Brick, NJ 08724

11 April 2013

Food and Drug Administration

10903 New Hampshire Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002

Food and Drug Administration,

I am contacting you on behalf of your poor performances on regulating labels among

various products I have purchased. Your company has not altered the regulations on the labeling

standard since 1990, (Center of Science for the Public Interest, par. 2) and many things have

changed since this time. The labels that are being manufactured are highly misleading to the

consumer, and we are not receiving what we pay extensive amounts of money towards. Not only

are these flaws found within food products, but also significant medications, which can cause

extreme health effects among individuals.

Based off of my experiences with these disingenuous labels, I have come to the

conclusion that your company of the Food and Drug Administration needs to place a higher

importance on consumer health. I have purchased many food products with the words “natural”

and “zero trans-fat” advertised on them. The Center of Science for the Public Interest’s website

informed me these words are not sending a fully positive message. In the consumer’s

perspective, these phrases simply indicate the product under the packaging is decently healthy. It

Nora Shafer 4/9/13 10:21 AMComment [2]: Idon’tknowifthisisthebes

tostartoffyourletter.Irealizethatthisisa

complaintletter;however,bysaying“yourpoo

performances”(realisticallyspeaking)mightbe

puttingandsoundsabitbiased.Yourcouldrew

bysaying:“Iamcontactingyouradministration

behalfofsomeoftheconcernsthatIhaverega

performancesregulating……”.


Comment [3]: Maybetryandbemorespec

aboutwho“We”is.Tryandkeepinmindwhoy

arespeakfor?Youmayknowbutyouhaveto

assumethatthepeopleyouarewritingtodon’

know.


Comment [4]: Bygivingspecificexamples

(namesoftheseproducts)youwillprovidethe

withavisualandevidencetotheaccusationsth

youaremakingtowardsthem.



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has come to my knowledge that these terms do not mention anything about low cholesterol or

saturated fat, which can be very harmful if not in moderation as well (Center of Science for the

Public Health, par. 3).

The reason there is a high importance of monitoring the distinction between these two

components in foods is because they are highly diverse. “Saturated fat occurs naturally in food,

but trans-fat is man-made” (Calorie Count, par. 1). There are also more added byproducts, or

added chemicals, in trans-fat items. Although these two substances are extremely different in

chemicals and source, they both contribute to life threatening diseases. “Food labels play an

important role in the battle against obesity and diet-related disease, which are responsible for

hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in the United States each year” (Center of Science for

the Public Interest). Your company is partially to blame for this occurrence because of your

allowance of terrible labeling principles. The Food and Drug Administration is basically

allowing customers to become fooled by these labeling misconceptions which are causing

damaging consumer health in society.

Furthermore, the FDA’s inability to produce proper food labels is also affecting the

liability of the industry. This then causes more hesitation to purchase these products because in

reality, it is unclear what they consist of. In addition, your industry needs to reevaluate realistic

serving sizes and requiring nutrition labels to be more appealing to the average human. More

often than not this information is tremendously confusing and it is not understandable what

consumers are ingesting. In order to provide you with clear examples of misleading labels, I

have a variety of items I wish to share with you. In the past I have purchased many “100 percent

natural” granola bars distributed by Nature’s Valley. This label makes it seem like the product is

healthy, but I then took a glance at the ingredients label. The second ingredient in this product is


Comment [5]: Add“also”here.(Iyouwant


Comment [6]: Isoundsabitweirdtoenda

sentencewith“aswell”.Maybetakeoutaswe

add“also”atthebeginningofthesentence.


Comment [7]: Itmightbebettertosay“Ife

thatyourcompanyispartially……“.


Comment [8]: Youmightwanttoadd“asto


Comment [9]: Ifeellikethiscouldbeworde

better.Idoesn’tflow


Comment [10]: Ilikethatyouusedanexam

wouldliketoseemoreJ



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high-maltose corn syrup, which has not yet been studied for potential risks (Vallient, par. 3).

This developed more concerns for me because I strongly believed these snacks were decently

healthy, and it was shocking to hear about this information. Not only should you reconsider your

labeling tactics, but you should also look more in depth toward the ingredients these

manufacturers are using.

Another product I bought was Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which has the words “Whole

Grain Guaranteed” visibly labeled at the top of the box. This label is misleading because whole

grain is not the initial ingredient used for this product. Moreover, whole grain indicates the

product should contain a decent quantity of fiber and nutrients, and this cereal merely contains

two percent of fiber (Vallient, par. 7). Many manufactures recognize the notion that consumers

do not understand the true meaning behind whole grain. This is why they demonstrate these

loopholes to influences individuals that they are actually consuming healthy snacks. It is

apparent that you need to notify these manufacturers about their labels, among many other

industries who are producing these contradicting foods as well.

Not only does your industry have poor regulations on food, but medications also create

serious apprehensions. Many medications on the market acquire extensive “fine print” on the

bottles and the consumer has difficulty acknowledging them. This is highly dangerous

considering these include the health risks and the train of individuals who should not participate

in consumption. The FDA needs to require the manufacturers to place this important

information where it is more visible and apparent to the customer .

Evidences are available for best practices in labeling format and content, such as

increasing font size, using clear and simple language, using headers, and placing a more


Comment [11]: Itmightbebesttotakethis

workout.It’snotneededtomakethesentence

makesince.


Comment [12]: “at”maybeabetterword

choice”


Comment [13]: takeout“of”


Comment [14]: Thisdoesn’tquiteflow.Try

rewordthissentence.


Comment [15]: Thisneedstobeplural….

“Consumershavehad”


Comment [16]: Takeout



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appropriate emphasis on organizing label content around what is most important for

patients such as drug name, dose, dosage or usage instructions, patient name, doctor

name, quantity, refill information, and provider content such as pharmacy name, logo and

national drug code number should be in optimal font size. (Jeetu, Girish, par. 11)

There are countless suggestions for you to consider that will provide higher standards on medical

labels. If the Food and Drug Administration took these into account and actually made a

difference in the regulation processes, there would be less confusion for consumers and fewer

avoidable illnesses.

Throughout my experiences and research, I have reached a final verdict that the Food and

Drug Administration should highly reconsider the labeling regulations on the products

mentioned. A product should not attempt to resemble a healthy component when in actuality this

food is horrible for an individual. In addition, nutrition facts and labels should be easily

understood to consumers and provide them with truthful information. Most importantly, this

industry must place a higher importance on the monitoring of medication labeling because it is

causing serious health issues among individuals. Consumers are unsure on the realism of

products purchased because this company is not liable with the labeling requirements. This Food

and Drug Administration industry strongly needs to do its job and place higher standards on the

consumer’s safety, and the initial step in doing so is to improve regulation on labels.

Thank you, and your patience and time is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Michelle Slog


Comment [17]: Ilikethatyoutellthemtha

don’thavetocontinuemisleadingpeopleandt

givingthemexamplesastohow.Ithinkthatgiv

themperspectiveandapossiblewayforthem

improve.


Comment [18]: Somewhereinhereyouwe

fromaddressingtheFDAas“you,your”whichi

slightlylessformal(whichisok,becauseyouar

writingaletter)Butnowyouareaddressingth

aformalcompanywhichIfeeltakesawayfrom

humanizationthatyouwereusingbefore.Ithin

thatifyouweregoingtoaddressthemas“you

themyouneedtokeepthatsameformat

throughouttheentirepaper.Ifnot,thenitsoun

likeyouarewaveringfrominformaltoformal.


Comment [19]: “oftherealismoftheprodu

theypurchase…becauseyourcompany…”(just

suggestiontomakethatsentenceflowbetter)



Slog6

Works Cited

Calorie Count . anonymous, 13 Jan. 2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

<http://caloriecount.about.com/difference-trans-fat-saturated-q4146>.

Jeetu, G., and T. Girish. "Prescription Drug Labeling Medication Errors: A Big Deal for

Pharmacists." U.S. National Library of Medicince National Institutes of Health. J

Young Pharm., 2010. Web. 2 Apr. 2013.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3035877/>.

"Food Labeling." Center for Science in the Public Interest . N.p., 2012. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.

<http://www.cspinet.org/foodlabeling/>.

Valliant, Melissa. "Top 5 Deceptive Food Labels We Bet You’ve Fallen For." Hella Wella. N.p.,

26 Sept. 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. <http://www.hellawella.com/top-5-deceptive-food-

labels-we-bet-youve-fallen-for/2989>.



Slog7

Research Pre-Writing

• Purpose of this piece/ what information do you need to fulfill this info:

o The purpose of this response letter is to notify the Food and Drug Administration

about their poor labeling regulations. In order to successfully base an argument

about this issue, I will need to provide extended research about the topic. The

information I will need to find out is how the FDA displays their labeling

requirements among industries. I will also need to find out the issues involved

with labels on the market and how consumers are responding to them. This

research will be helpful because my response letter is based on an angry consumer

who is complaining to the FDA.

• Anything in the piece you are responding to that you do not understand/ what more do

you need to research in order to understand it:

o In the article I am responding to, I do not understand the full components of the

nutrition labels. I need to provide more research on how the nutrition labels

display positive feedback against ones that do not. For instance, I need to fully

understand what is healthy for consumers and what can actually harm them in the

long run. In addition to these uncertainties, I also need to research the difference

between saturated fats and trans-fat. The article discusses how food labels

advertise how their product has zero trans-fat, but this does not mean it does not

have zero saturated fat, which is more harmful to the body. I must find

information to back up these points and form my own knowledge on it. This will

advance my arguments within my complaint letter to the Food and Drug

Administration.

• What do you need to know about the full cycle of this conversation, is the article

responding to something else:

o I need to find out how this article came about and why it is providing the

information it does. I need to research what product in particular it is refereeing

to, or if it is a majority of products on the market. This can also assist me in

letting the FDA know what products are misleading so they have a better sense on

where they should start to reevaluate. In addition, I can put these individual

products in my letter as references in order to provide more evidence on my topic.

• In your proposal, what will you need to research in order to accomplish what you said in

it:

o I need to find out the specifics of the products in which are providing misleading

labels in order for the Food and Drug Administration to grasp a better hold on

who to address. I could maybe even give the FDA suggestions on how to alter the

labels in order for the common consumer to understand. In addition, I must

research more information about the manufacturer’s regulations on their products

considering this is where the root of the problem is.



Slog8

• In intro, what will you need to research to accomplish this intention:

o Within the introduction of my letter, I address the various products I purchased in

which demonstrate misleading labeling. Once again, I need to display more

research in order to provide examples of these products for the Food and Drug

Administration. I also talk about medications in addition to food products. I need

to go into more detail about these items because my letter is mainly about foods.

This will further display knowledge about a variety of companies the FDA

monitors and how they need to improve all of their regulations.• Intended audience= what are their interests, what research is needed to provide this:

o My intended audiences are the individuals in the FDA. These are the people I am

addressing my letter to and who I am facing my complaints towards. Keeping in

mind the Food and Drug Administration understand more about the food industry

than I do, I must provide extended research in order to prove I know what I am

talking about. This will then make my argument stronger and this industry will

also respect me more. This will also offer the opportunity for the FDA to actually

reconsider their labeling tactics based on my notable information and research.

• Unintended audience= who are they? What might they expect? What might you need to

research in order for them to interact with this piece?

o The unintended audience could be other consumers who obtain the same

complaints and problems as I do in the letter. These individuals may expect me todisplay a logical argument to the FDA in order to make a difference in labeling. I

may need to apply more research on stories of personal consumers who have had

negative experiences with products due to poor labeling. This can also help me

question the Food and Drug Administration’s liability more and show them how

their mistakes are affecting other people’s lives, not just mine.

• Writing a letter to the FDA, what components are necessary to capture content, audience

and purpose for this piece:

o In a letter, in order to capture the content, I must display the components of a

proper heading and closing. I also must remember to stay professional in order

for the FDA to take me seriously. In addition, I must display my information in an

organized way that also proves my point and influences the Food and Drug

Administration to reevaluate their standards on labeling products. In order tocapture my audience, I must initially address my letter appropriately and

immediately state what my purpose is for contacting them. I also need to apply

my knowledge on the topic and demonstrate that I understand everything I am

talking about. Lastly, in order to capture my purpose of the letter, I must provide

quotes from my research. I should also include other personal experiences in

order to further demonstrate how poor labeling can cause a negative effect on

people.

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