FREDUPTON,MICHIGANCHAIRMANHENRYA.WAXMAN,CALIFORNIARANKINGMEMBER
ONEHUNDREDTWELFTHCONGRESS
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RAYBURNHOUSEOFFICEBUILDINGWASHINGTON,
DC20515-6115
Majority(202)225-2927Minority(202)225-3641
September12,2011TheHonorableKathleenSebeliusSecretaryU.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServicesTheHubertH.HumphreyBuilding200IndependenceAvenue,S.W.Washington,D.C.20201TheHonorableTomVilsackSecretaryU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture1400IndependenceAvenue,S.W.Washington,D.C.20250TheHonorableJonLeibowitzChairmanFederalTradeCommission600PennsylvaniaAvenue,N.W.Washington,D.C.20580DearSecretarySebelius,SecretaryVilsack,andChairmanLeibowitz:Sometwoandahalfyearsago,CongressdirectedyoutoestablishanInteragencyWorkingGrouponFoodMarketedtoChildren(IWG)to"conductastudy"andtodeveloprecommendationsforstandardsforthemarketingoffoodtochildrenandteenagers.'TheIWGwastoreportthefindingsofitsstudyanditsrecommendationstoCongressnolaterthanJuly15,2010.InsteadofconductingtheprescribedstudyorprovidingtimelyrecommendationstoCongress,theIWGhasproducedadocumententitled"PreliminaryProposedNutritionPrinciplestoGuideIndustrySelf-RegulatoryEfforts."TheIWGdescribesthedevelopmentoftheseNutritionPrinciples-recommendationsaddressednottoCongress,buttoindustry-asthe"first
I
OmnibusAppropriationsAct,2009(H.R.1105),FinancialServicesandGeneralGovernment,ExplanatoryStatement,TitleV,IndependentAgencies,983-84.
TheHonorableKathleenSebelius,theHonorableTomVilsack,andtheHonorableJonLeibowitzPage
2
phaseofpreparingareporttoCongress."
NutritianPrinciples
at2.Nowhere,however,doestheIWGsetforthanyplanforconductingtherequestedstudy.
It
appears,therefore,thattheIWGhassettledonitscourseandintendsnothingmorethanto.reviewthepubliccomments,adjusttheNutritionPrinciplesasitdeemsnecessary,andsendthemtoCongress.TheNutritionPrinciples,producedwithoutthebenefitofthestudythatwastoinformIWG'srecommendations,arelittlebetterthanashotinthedark.TheIWGadmitsthatiftheywerefullyimplementedasproposed,"alargepercentageoffoodproductscurrentlyinthe.marketplace"wouldnotcomply.
NutritionPrinciples
at5.FoodsthatdonotcomplywiththeNutritionPrinciplesaredisapprovedequally,whethertheyarenutritionallydisastrousorcanappropriatelybelabeled"healthy"undercurrentfederalregulations.AccordingtotheIWG,it
"may
befeasibletoreformulatesomefoodproductstomeet[theNutritionPrinciples],"but"inmanycasesreformulationwouldrequiresubstantialchangesinthenutritionalprofileofthefood,"andsuchsubstantialchanges"maypresent
both
technicaldifficultiesandchallengesinmaintainingthepalatabilityandconsumeracceptanceoftheproduct."
Id.
(emphasisadded).Inshort,implementationoftheproposedNutritionalPrincipleswouldhaveanenormous,immediateimpact,andtheIWGhasnoideawhetheritisactuallypossibletomakefoodsthatwouldqualify,muchlesstomakethemenjoyabletoeat.Astothemanyfoodsthatcould
not
bereformulatedtomeettheambitiousguidelines,theycouldnotbemarketed,undertheIWGproposal,eithertochildrenorteenagers.ButtheIWG'sdefinitionof"marketing"sweepsinfarmorethanjustadvertisingtargeteddirectlyatchildren.
It
wouldbantheadvertisementofnoncomplyingfoodsontelevisionevenwhenadultsareknowntomakeupthevastmajority(70-80percent)ofviewers.Forsuchfoods,in-storedisplaysandfamiliarpackagingwouldlikewisehavetobemodifiedorabandoned.Evencharitablesponsorshipsofyouthsportsteamswouldbedisallowed,despitetheundoubtedbenefitsofphysicalexerciseforchildren'shealth.Theeconomicimpactsoftheproposalwouldclearlybesubstantial,butthereisnoindicationthattheIWGintendstoevaluatesucheffectsbeforefinalizingtheNutritionPrinciples.Significantly,theIWGoffersnoscientificsupportforthenotionthatrestrictingadvertisingwillactuallyhelpreducechildhoodobesity.Initsmostrecentstudy,theInstituteofMedicinefoundthat"currentevidenceis
not
sufficient"todemonstrateacausalrelationshipbetweentelevisionadvertisingandobesity?Othernationshavetriedfoodadvertisingbansinrecentyearswithoutdocumentedsuccess.What
has
beendocumentedfromexperimentselsewhereisanincreaseinpricesforfoodsthatarenotallowedtobeadvertised.Therealcausesofchildhoodobesityhavemoretodowithinadequatephysicalactivityandexcesscalorieconsumptionthanwiththeadvertisingandpackagingoffood.ManyofthefoodsthatarethreatenedbytheIWG'sproposal,suchasbreakfastcereals,havebeenshowntobeassociatedwithlowerbodymassindexinchildren.TheIWG's"onesizefitsall"approachalsoignoresthesubstantialprogressthathasalreadybeenmadebysomefirmsinrecentyearstoimprovethenutritionprofileoffoodsmarketedtochildren.
2
FoodMarketingtoChildrenandYouth:ThreatorOpportunity?,
at9(InstituteofMedicine,CommitteeofFoodMarketingandtheDietsofChildrenandYouth,J.MichaelMcGinnis,JenniferAppletonGootman,Vivica
1.
Kraak,eds2006)(emphasisadded).
TheHonorableKathleenSebelius,theHonorableTomVilsack,andthe,HonorableJonLeibowitzPage3Giventheseandmanyotherdefects,theNutritionPrincipleswouldneverpassmusteriftheywereadoptedasregulations.BecausecompliancewiththeNutritionPrinciplesisdeemed"voluntary,"however,theIWOapparentlydoesnotfeelthesamesenseofresponsibilityforthemasitsconstituentagencieswouldforbindingregulations.Yetthatattitudeunderestimates(somewouldsay"exploits")theimpactofgovernmentrecommendationsinanarenaascloselywatchedasthis.Intherealworld,therewillbemanyforcesatworkdrivingcompliance,particularlyforbrand-consciouscompaniesthattrytoberesponsible.Normally,weapplaudthecompanieswhogotheextramiletodogoodthingsforsociety,butheretherehasbeennoresearchorstudythattheiradherencetotheNutritionPrincipleswillbenefitsociety,farlessthatanybenefitsjustifytheimmensecostsofdoingso.Underthecircumstances,webelievethattheIWOshouldwithdrawthecurrentproposalandstartafresh.ConductingthestudyCongressaskedforshouldbethefirststepintheprocess,notanafterthoughtorposthocrationalization.TheIWOshouldbaseitsrecommendationstoCongressonsoundscience,andshouldexplicitlyevaluatethebenefitsandcostofdifferentapproachesCongresscouldtake.TheIWOshouldscrupulouslyavoidmakingrecommendationsintheformofablackandwhitequasi-regulation(liketheproposedNutritionPrinciples)thatotherscanusetobludgeoncompaniesintocompliance.Toinformouroversightefforts,werequestthatyouprovideanswerstothefollowingquestionsnolaterthanSeptember27,2011:1.WhendoestheIWOintendtocompletethestudycalledforbyCongress?HowwilltheIWOtakeaccountofthestudyinformulatingitsrecommendationstoCongress?2.HowdidtheIWOderivethepreciselevelsofthenutrientstolimitperPrincipleB?WhydidtheIWOdeviatefromexistingfederalnutritionstandards?3.WhatevidenceexiststoshowthattheproposedNutritionPrinciplesareachievableformosttypesoffood?Whatevidenceexiststoshowtheproposedphase-inperiodsareadequate?4.Whatevidenceexiststoshowthatchildhoodobesityisrelatedtoadvertisingoffoodthatdoesn'tcomplywiththeproposedNutritionPrinciples?Arethereexamplesofadvertisingrestrictionselsewherethathaveledtoreductionsinchildhoodobesity?5.WhatcostswouldbeinvolvedinreformulatingfoodonawidespreadscaletomeettheproposedNutritionPrinciples?Howwouldsuchcostsaffectthepriceoffood?6.Ifmanufacturerscannotsuccessfullyreformulatefoodstocomplywiththeproposed..NutritionPrinciplesandcomplyinsteadwiththe"voluntary"marketingrestrictions,howwouldtheeconomybeaffected?HastheIWOdeterminedthelikelyimpactonadvertisingrevenues?Whatisthelikelyimpactontelevisionprogramming,particularlyprogrammingintendedforchildrenandfamilies?WhatimpactonemploymentdoyouexpecttheproposedNutritionPrinciplestohave?
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