food letter 14

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202+225+1168 R e p. C hr is G ib so n R ep . C hr is GCbson 03:21:01 p.m. 07-27-2011

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July 27,2011

T he H on orab le T om V ilsa ck

Secretary

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20250

The Honorable Secretary Sebelius

Secretary

U.S. Department of H ealth an d H um an Services

200 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington. D.C. 20201

T he H on ora ble Io n L eib ow itz

Chairman

Federal Trade Commission

60 0 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20580

De ar S ec re ta ry V ils ac k, S ec re ta ry S eb eliu s, a nd Ch airm an L eib ow itz :

W e write to express our significant an d immediate concerns over the Preliminary .--.-

Proposed Nutrition Principles to Food Marketed to Children by th e Interagency Wo rk in g G ro up ,

an d we strongly urge you to consider w ithdraw ing the guidelines. .

. The latest guide l ines , re leased inApril of this year, represent an alarming regulatory

overreach on th e part o f membe rs of th e Interagency W orking Group, As you know, the FY

2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act directed the USDA, FDA, CDC, and FTC to complete a study

and to provide recommendations in the form of a report to Congress. For reasons that remain

unclear, th e Interagency Working Group failed to complete the study or d eliv er a report, bu t

instead went ahead with proposing wide-ranging industry marketing guidelines. While the

principles put forth by the Interagency Working Group are "voluntary," they are still cause forconcern as they appear to be an attempt to regulate absent Congressional action. IfCongress

wished to regulate the marketing offood and beverage products to children and teens, they

would do so. Notwithstanding any action from Congress, and at time o f budget constraints andcompeting agency priorities, it is troubling to learn that valuable agency resources have been

diverted to seek objectives far beyond the in te nt o f Congress.

More importantly, we are concerned with the content of the proposed guidelines put forth

by the Interagency Working Group. Under the proposed Nutrition Principles, many healthy

foods could no longer be marketed to kids and teens, including two percent milk, most soups,

many cereals, many breads, and most cheese. Furthermore, the Interagency Working Group

proposal is clearly inconsistent with other federal nutrition standards. Many of these f ood s h av e

long been considered healthy and included in the WIe program. Even marketing for a peanut

butter and jelly sandwich would be banned under the proposal. Yet, school cafeterias servepeanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day through our National School Lunch

Program. While we recognize the need to address the growing trend of childhood obesity, it is

irresponsible to p u t forth a set of industry guidelines that ignores inherent contradictions in

federal policy.

PAI ~TEO ON AECYC~EO PAPER

. :. . ..- ;" f ' . . .- - .



202+225+1168 Rep. Chris GIbson Rep. Chrls Gibson 03:21:33p.m. 07-27-2011' 317

We urge members of the Interagency Working Group to complete the study thatCongress originally requested. Absent such a study, it would be irresponsible to continue

promoting the Interagency Working Group's principles without sufficient research and analysis.

For these reasons, we urge you to consider withdrawing the Preliminary Proposed

Nutrition Principles to Food Marketed to Children by the Interagency Working Group.

Sincerely,

('134-. Chris Gibson 1/' /1//.)Member of Congress

a_~Adam Kinzinger ,(

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Lou Barletta ~ i f ' " ' \Member of Congress

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Diane Black ~ L l b ' 1

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202+225+1168 Rep. Ch ri s G i bs on Rep .Ch r is G i bso n 03:22:49 p.m. 07-27-2011 7/7

food letter 14

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