THE SHAPE OF THE UNION

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The AHA Seal of Approval

"We'll soon launch the Consumer Health Information Program—CHIP—which may change the way Americans shop for food," says Myron L. Weisfeldt, director of cardiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who has just begun a one-year term as president of the American Heart Association (AHA).

"CHIP is exciting," he notes, "because consumers will be able to walk into any store and quickly identify a product that meets the AHA standards for dietary intake of cholesterol, salt, and saturated fat. Such packaged and processed foods will have an AHA seal signifying that they are recommended as part of a heart-healthy diet.

"The American public has been begging for this. They're bombarded with all kinds of information about dietary guidelines, but complex labeling and misleading advertising have made it difficult to figure out how a particular food fits in. We hope CHIP will clear this up."

CHIP, however, has drawn fire from government food regulators who suggest the AHA shouldn't be in the business of rating foods, to which Weisfeldt replies: "We're sensitive to the concerns of government but also to the concerns of the public. And the public looks to the AHA to take the lead in providing simple and accurate information about which foods are better for their diet.

The AHA has a tradition of going after issues—as we did with smoking and high blood pressure—and going after them well. In the past, we've also been accused of overstepping our bounds, and yet the credibility of the AHA has improved. We think this will be the same with this program. We have a large staff and are spending a good deal of money to do this right."

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