By Joan Garvin

Do you check ingredient labels? Runners, bikers, dieters, diabetics and anyone else who depends on nutritious snacks to supplement their diet do. They trust the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to guarantee accurate representation. But what you see is not always what you get.

A Los Altos law firm, Packard, Packard and Johnson, spearheaded by attorney and city council member Ron Packard, has filed a class action suit to force five vendors to comply with FDA requirements. The plaintiffs include Jamie Pesek, a trainer at Axis Personal Training and Spa in Mountain View, The trial is scheduled Aug. 2 in Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco.

As the only defendant with retail outlets, GNC is the most recognizable brand name, but all impact the local market.

According to the law, “Any stated or implied nutrient content of a product has to be approved by the FDA,” Packard said. He intends to show that the companies violated FDA requirements on their labeling with generic and specific violations.

An FDA “Warning Letter” July 18, 2000, specified the generic problem: “This product is misbranded because the label bears the claim ‘Low Carb’ which is a nutrient content claim that is not authorized by regulation.” Various modifications, such as “For Low Carb Diets,” do not meet FDA requirements because “that claim still implies ‘low carbohydrate,’” an unauthorized nutrient claim.

The specific labeling at issue is the representation of the carbohydrate content. The front labels of many of the named health bars and drinks prominently feature some variation of “2g Net Carbs” or “2g Net Impact Carbs.”

But, turn over any bar/beverage and examine the list of ingredients. On the questioned packaging, in much smaller print, up to 25 additional carbohydrate grams may be itemized. Most of the challenged bars add a disclaimer in fine print, such as “Glycerine is not a carbohydrate but has a caloric value of 4.32 per gram.”

The FDA’s response is unequivocal: “Glycerine is a simple carbohydrate … must be included in the value declared for ‘Total Carbohydrates.’”

What difference does it make? According to a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, “(The mislabeling) has led people with diabetes to take incorrect insulin doses and/or have uncontrolled blood sugars from diet control.”

Anyone attempting to reduce carbohydrate intake for health reasons could seriously underestimate their consumption.

Local GNC retailers in Los Altos and Mountain View said lawsuit does not directly impact them.