The Federal Trade Commission is clamping down on the U.S.
Department of Agriculture by ordering it to stop two advertising campaigns that
tout the supposed weight loss benefits of milk.
The decision is in response to a FTC petition filed by the
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which argued that the government
was making misleading claims about the benefits of milk and other dairy
products. The committee reported that there is no scientific evidence to back
the claims.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been using
celebrities in its ad campaigns. One advertisement claims that consuming three
low-fat dairy products daily will help burn fat. The Physicians Committee
believes that consuming more dairy products will likely have the opposite effects.
The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the National Fluid Milk
Processor Promotion Board have agreed to end the campaigns.