The US Food and Drug Administration has said Kind LLC can use the term “healthy” on the packaging of its snack bars and on its website, reversing last year’s decision that such messaging breached regulations governing health claims.
In April last year, the FDA said Kind could not say its bars were “healthy” as they contain higher-than-permitted levels of saturated fat. Kind, which initially withdrew the claim, argued because nuts are a primary ingredient in the bars, the products contain “nutritious fats” that exceed the amount allowed under the standard.
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In an update released today (10 May), Kind said the US regulator has now retracted its decision, which was based on a regulation that “healthy” could only be used as a nutrient content claim on products containing less than 3g of total fat or 1g of saturated fat per serving.
“At Kind, healthy has always been more than just a word on a label, so when we were asked to remove the term from our wrappers, it cut to the core of who we are,” said Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO. “While we’re pleased the FDA affirmed that Kind can put healthy back on our wrappers, just as we had it before, it doesn’t change what always has been and will remain our focus – to create delicious snacks made with wholesome ingredients.”
In December last year, Kind filed a petition urging the FDA to update its requirements related to the term healthy to emphasise the importance of eating “real foods” and “nutrient-dense ingredients” as part of healthy eating patterns.
