May 2012/Prepared Foods -- Words matter. The selection of the ultimate set of words to effectively promote and sell products is the end-goal of marketing departments and companies everywhere—not just the food, beverage and supplement industries. The more persuasive the message, the better chance a company’s products will move off of the shelves and into consumers’ pantries. However, companies must also use caution when composing labeling and advertising messages.
To employ an oft-used quote, “the devil is in the details.” The use of certain words and phrases could result in a company making certain claims it does not realize it is making and did not intend to make. If the criteria for such claims are not met, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may consider such products to be misbranded. To avoid being overrun by “labeling demons,” companies must be well-versed in the linguistics of labeling laws.