Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

Record Details:

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THE WEEK in. WA.SHINGTON AS VIEWED BY OUR WASHINGTON NEWS BUREAU December h, 196U Scarcely a cross word was spoken during last week's eighth annual gettogether here between the FDA and the food and drug manufacturers. At the jointly sponsored FDA-Food Law Institute conference, the main topic was "How to Educate the American Consumer." Next came best ways to get maximum "voluntary compliance" from industry with increased industry education and minimum regulatory crackdown. The big problem turned out to be the "lethargic" consumer. The housevdfe — prime buyer of household grocery and drug items — feels almost too comfortable and protected. She is highly optimistic about industry and government safety and purity standards. She makes a few complaints and shows little enthusiasm for being educated in the wisest shopping choice. Both industry and government people who have worked in this field admit that the consumer is generally careless about reading labels, about reading and keeping pamphlets of instruction for reference. She still leaves medicines and hazardous household products within baby's reach. Instructions and ingredient listings bore and confuse her if they are complex, or couched in unfamiliar jargon. On the other hand, an FDA pamphlet notes, she is too prone to believe in the myth of "overprocessing" and pass up nutritionally improved foods for faddish diet supplements. Some $0 speakers from the food and drug industry and government ' crammed speeches into the one-day conference. Given another day or two on ■ their monumental topic, they might have found better ways to transform the lethargic consumer into the consciously wise "chooser." Wise consumer choice is the goal of the Johnson administration, preferably through government-industry partnership. Industry agrees with the goal — but insists on the equally vital need to be given a free hand to develop new products, and the labeling, packaging and advertising to market them. Speakers for both sides agree that so far, all approaches to the problem have been piece-meal, and uncertain. The educating has gone on in committees and conferences; in commissions and surveys and studies; on tv and radio; in the press and magazines and women's clubs, and on the Hill in consumer-protection bills. Everyone in government and industry has done his bit, but the bits have not added up. It was pointed out that educated consumers would not still be buying a billion dollars worth of medical quackery and unnecessary nutrition supplements a year. One conclusion reached was that there must be an end to the "average CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE Oacamber 7, 1964 13