The new reference daily intakes: for better or for worse?

Late in 1991, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed sweeping new regulations for food labeling and initiated a 90-day open discussion period which ended on February 25, 1992. The general content of these newly proposed regulations has been the subject of previous articles in Nutrition Reviews. Among the most hotly contested issues, and one that is certainly most important, is the question of how the new regulations would influence the quality of the American food supply and thereby the health of the American people. To explore this question further, I have invited the editor of two leading nutrition newsletters, Dr. Lillian Langseth, to present her analysis of the potential impact of the new regulations, and have asked Drs. John Vanderveen and Victor Frattali of the Food and Drug Administration to respond in point and counterpoint