An Analysis of Legal Responses to Health Claims on Foods and Beverages Marketed to Children

Food manufacturers often use health claims to promote their products to consumers, including parents seeking healthy options for children and adolescents. When health claims are allegedly deceptive or unfair, governments and individuals may take legal action against the company making the claim. We sought to understand which health claims have faced legal action and the nature of the legal actions that have been taken. We conducted a comprehensive review of health claims on foods and beverages marketed to children and adolescents that have been the focus of legal action from 2005 to mid-2013. Using an iterative process, search terms were developed to identify judicial opinions, warning letters, filed cases, and other documents. Searches were conducted in the Westlaw and Lexis legal databases, and the websites of state and federal public health agencies were systematically searched. An electronic form was used for data abstraction. Health claims on foods and beverages intended for adult consumption (e.g., alcoholic beverages) were excluded. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics. We identified 117 unique health claims that faced legal action at the state or federal level. Over four times as many claims were subject to legal action from 2010-2013 compared with 2005-2009. Approximately two-thirds of the legal actions were initiated by private individuals, while nearly one-quarter were initiated by the federal government. The federal FDCA and state-level consumer protection laws were common bases for litigation and other action. We will discuss the implications of these findings for policy-makers seeking to prioritize claims for legal action.