Seeds of Change Organic Quinoa, Brown & Red Rice

Seeds of Change may want to change how it markets its “Organic Quinoa, Brown & Red Rice” if the company wants to avoid sowing seeds of deception.

Based on the packaging, above, a TINA.org reader was expecting quinoa to be one of the main ingredients in the microwaveable pouch, which is sold at popular retailers including Target and Walmart. Given that quinoa is advertised as the first ingredient in the name of the product, she may not be the only one.

But according to the ingredient list on the back of the package, the product actually contains “less than 2%” of quinoa (in the form of “whole grain black quinoa”).

What does the law have to say about this?

The FTC has long cautioned that “what the headline giveth, the footnote cannot taketh away.” And the agency’s Enforcement Policy Statement on Food Advertising supports the conclusion that a claim implying a food contains a meaningful amount of a particular ingredient can be deceptive if, in reality, that ingredient makes up only a small fraction of the product.

Seeds of Change, which is owned by consumer goods giant Mars, did not respond to a request for comment.

The bottom line

If the contents of a meal are important to you, don’t rely solely on the marketing on the front of the package – the ingredient list on the back often holds the answers you’re searching for. As the reader told us, “I had to look at the fine print to see what was really in it.”

Find more of our coverage on ingredient claims.