Last month, the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) sent a lengthy warning letter to Nashoba Brook Bakery, a bakery based in Massachusetts, identifying a number of alleged violations of food regulations and labeling regulations.  One such allegation was that the bakery’s Nashoba Granola product improperly listed “love” as an ingredient on its label.  Specifically, the FDA alleged, “Your Nashoba Granola label lists ingredient ‘Love’.  Ingredients required to be declared on the label or labeling of food must be listed by their common or usual name [21 CFR 101.4(a)(1).  ‘Love’ is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient.”

The FDA’s love-related allegation has garnered some press both locally and nationally and is a good reminder regarding labeling regulations and the FDA’s enforcement authority.  Other FDA warning letters can be found here.