The Quaker Oats Health Claim

Abstract

The 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) allowed food labels to carry health claims describing the relationship between a food or food ingredient and a disease or health-related condition. In 1995, The Quaker Oats Company filed a petition for the first foodbased health claim, regarding the relationship between consumption of oat products and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). After multiple amendments of the proposed claim, the FDA approved a claim that linked “soluble fiber from certain foods and CHD.” The Quaker Oats Company integrated the approved claim into a multifocal public relations campaign, delivering educational and healthcare provider information to the public and to healthcare and nutrition specialists, through a variety of print and electronic media: newspaper ads, magazine articles, TV news clips and the Internet. The company also developed educational brochures and information pieces for consumers and healthcare professionals and continuing partnerships with professional organizations. The advantages of the health claim are seen in The Quaker Oat Company's increased sales, after the label claim was implemented.

Key Words:

• Consumer attitudes
• food and health
• labeling regulations
• food label health claims
• impact of food health claims on consumer behavior