Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) regulatory issues concerning the labelling of frozen pizzas whose toppings include a manufactured cheese analog; and (2) related concerns about food labelling issues.
GAO found that: (1) the Department of Agriculture (USDA), unlike the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), does not require disclosure of cheese analog on frozen pizzas; (2) USDA withdrew its proposed labelling requirement for cheese analog because opponents successfully argued that it would be costly and unnecessary; (3) controversies concerning the nutritional value of cheese analog hindered attempts to require labelling; and (4) there are no common criteria for determining the relative nutritional values of manufactured and natural foods. GAO also found that: (1) federal labelling legislation and regulations have not kept pace with the increase in manufactured food products; (2) in 1986, the industry introduced about 3,400 new manufactured food products; (3) FDA believes that the nutritional standards developed years ago are too rigid; and (4) although labelling legislation could alleviate the controversy over cheese analog, it would not resolve underlying food labelling issues.
