this post was submitted on 29 May 2025
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A Boring Dystopia
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Are food labelling laws really that bad in the US? Can you really really buy "dinner" without having any idea what its main ingredient is?
Anytime I read some in-depth report about food regulations in the USA my jaw drops. Favourite permanent head-shaker: the FDA relies on manufacturers self-reporting if their food is "safe" - and has been for decades.
It's not just the FDA. The Department of Transportation standards for helmets have barely changed since they were set back in 74 based on flawed and already outdated data, and helmet manufacturers self report whether their helmets conform. It's estimated 20% of DoT helmets don't actually comply, despite being DoT certification.
I recall a small cookie or dessert company that listed "love" as an ingredient. FDA made them take it out of the list.
They also made Jeremy stop jacking off into the dough.
Hasn't tasted right since.
Yeah, now he jerks it out of spite.
Totally throws the subtle flavors off.
A spitewank. I think we've just invented a new word. I'll contact Mirriam-Webster at once!
Well yeah...that's the "love" part. It would be false advertising if they took Jeremy away but still insisted it contained love.
I think this is just a supermarket thing. It's a generic label for the purpose of their inventory system for things they make themselves as opposed to something they sell that was purchased from a primary vendor.
My supermarket has a deli I can order sandwiches from and they'll have "lunch" or something to that effect on the label that has the barcode on it.
We do have very "strict" food labeling laws as far as what you can call a thing based on what's in it, so much so that I basically call it "food language." For example a product that is made with synthetic chocolate is not allowed to be called simply "chocolate," it can be called chocolaty or I think chocolate flavored, but not "chocolate."
I like to get the salads from Kroger sometimes and they are all labeled "SALAD" haha
Also there are some labels that are standard but not regulatory in nature, which results in the frankly beautiful stupidity that is a "non-GMO" label on a salt container.
Not just the main ingredient; every ingredient must be on the label where in from. What would people with allergies do otherwise?
It usually depends on the size of the company producing the food. It's different from place to place but there is usually an exception in food labeling laws for very small business. So if less than X is sold, if the companies revenues surpass Y, or if anything is sold across state lines it needs a nutritional label. Otherwise they're exempt. Doesn't mean that the specific seller in the photo isn't breaking the law but like everything it's a lot more nuanced than just everything needs a label.
not eat premade (as in made at the supermarket) food from the supermarket?
Yes. Everything is “natural and artificial flavoring”. Also Tic-Tacs (which are literally just compressed balls of sugar) say in the nutrition facts that they have 0g of sugar because they keep the “serving size” just below the amount where they are allowed to round down to zero.
Europe does the exact same thing with food like this - this is like going to the lunch/dinner buffet station thing at your grocery store that has a price per kg or whatever. You won't find exact ingredients on the price tag you slap on you weighed food.