FDA tells bakery: Love is not an ingredient

Nashoba Brook Bakery gets warning letter that includes a violation for listing “love” as one of its granola ingredients.

Nashoba Brook Bakery granola — The FDA issued a warning letter to the Nashoba Brook Bakery that included a warning about listing "Love" as an ingredient on its granola. Source: Nashoba Brook Bakery.

Apparently, it doesn’t matter how much of your soul you put into making something, you aren’t allowed to list “Love” as one of the ingredients.

It’s a lesson that the Nashoba Brook Bakery, LLC. in Massachusetts learned the hard way — with a warning letter from the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA told the bakery:

“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. "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 company’s CEO John Gates told Bloomberg News that FDA’s take on love as an ingredient “just felt so George Orwell.”

“I really like that we list ‘love’ in the granola,” Gates told Bloomberg. “People ask us what makes it so good. It’s kind of nice that this artisan bakery can say there’s love in it and it puts a smile on people’s face. Situations like that where the government is telling you you can’t list ‘love’ as an ingredient, because it might be deceptive, just feels so silly.”

No word yet on whether happiness can be listed on the nutrition facts label.

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Crystal Lindell has more than 10 years of journalism experience, and worked primarily at daily newspapers before joining BNP Media 2010. Before joining Food Engineering as the Managing Editor, she was the managing editor of a sister publication, Candy Industry Magazine, where she learned first-hand the joys of eating chocolate for breakfast. Lindell holds a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois – Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Illinois University.