‘FAUX’ FRENCH IS FINE
FDA lifts dressing regs
Want a French twist? The Food and Drug Administration said it will stop regulating French dressing after keeping a tight rein on its ingredients since 1950.
Strangely, the FDA never policed the recipe for other dressings — Italian, ranch, blue cheese, etc. — but it did institute rules 72 years ago that in order to be called “French dressing,” the product had to contain 35% vegetable oil.
It also was required to contain vinegar or lemon or lime juice. Other ingredients like salt, tomato paste and spices were permitted but not dictated.
In 1998, the Association of Dressings and Sauces begged the FDA: Lettuce change! Customers who were looking for fat-free versions were out of luck since those products could not legally be marketed as “French dressing,” according to the ADS.
Without explaining the delay, the FDA finally agreed 24 years later, saying that the stringent threshold “no longer promotes honesty and fair dealing” for the benefit of consumers.
In a statement, ADS said it “supports” the FDA’s decision. “Since the standard was adopted, there has been a proliferation of a wide variety of non-standardized pourable salad dressings with different flavors (e.g., Italian, blue cheese, vinaigrette, ranch, Caesar) and composition (including reduced fat, “light” and fat-free dressings),” the trade group said. “The French dressing standard does not serve as a benchmark for these pourable salad dressings, due to the variation in composition to meet changing consumer needs. As a result, the French dressing standard simply restricts innovation.” Now that the guidelines have been lifted, makers can choose to either add or subtract vegetable oil or tomato paste so long as they are safe for consumers. Judging by American tastes, the decision on French dressing probably won’t have much effect on sales. In 2017, a survey by the ADS found that ranch and Italian dressing were the most popular. Rules governing the marketing of foods, including milk and cottage cheese, were put in place decades ago to ensure quality. But the FDA says it’s rethinking its oversight as part of its Nutrition Innovation Strategy.