Watchdog Group Calls Out Food Products Mislabled 'Healthy'

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2005 — -- The labels on some popular grocery store products are misleading consumers into thinking they're healthier than they really are, a food safety advocacy organization charged today.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest listed six products it says try to fool consumers with fraudulent labels.

The box for Betty Crocker's carrot cake mix shows pieces of carrot, for example, but the only vegetable -- the 19th ingredient -- is carrot powder.

The CSPI -- which has been nicknamed "the food police" by critics who cite the group's repeated warnings about food labeling -- says it had to use tweezers to pick out the broccoli from Quaker Oats' Pasta Roni with broccoli.

Smucker's Simply 100% Fruit Spread is actually 30 percent strawberries, and the rest is less expensive apple or pear juice, the group says.

Food manufacturers -- including Smuckers -- say their labels are within federal guidelines.

"People want to eat better, but the food industry is just delivering a lot of hype, not the real thing," said CSPI Legal Affairs Director Bruce Silverglade.

The group today said the blame rests squarely on the federal government.

The CSPI says its attempts to get the Food and Drug Administration to enforce labeling laws already on the books have fallen on deaf federal ears. It says the FDA is under-funded and under-motivated.

The FDA told ABC News truth in labeling remains a priority. But some states are not buying their claim.

"There is no question that one of the reasons why the FDA may be so lax in its enforcement is pressure from the food companies or other special interests," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

Blumenthal has already won a case against a Pepsi subsidiary for making unproven health claims.

"These kinds of health claims endanger our citizens, particularly our children," he said.

He says he'll sue if the federal government won't.

ABC News David Kerley filed this report for "World News Tonight."