| Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate and author of "Grocery Warning," says that food companies have always misled consumers.
"It's no surprise. Food companies have always lied to consumers by using deceptive labeling," Adams said. "Smart consumers have to look past the pictures and the exaggerated health claims on the front of the package and learn to read and interpret the ingredients listed in the nutrition facts section."
Foods that did contain an acceptable amount of fruit or fruit from concentrate in the survey included Smucker's Jam, Fruit Rollups and Apple Jacks cereal.
Topping the list were two fruit drinks found to have 100 percent fruit juice: Juicy Juice and Capri Sun Fruit Waves.
The study comes at a time when marketing to children has increased in the food and beverage industries. Overall, an estimated $10 billion in marketing is spent yearly, according to a 2006 report by the Institute of Medicine. For comparison, according to a year-end advertising industry report by Advertising Age magazine, in 2005 the food and beverage industry spent $7.2 billion in mass media advertising, up nearly 4 percent from the previous year. Page:[1] [2]
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