More specifically, the issue is with the bakery’s inclusion of the word ‘love’ on the list of ingredients on the label of its homemade granola. On September 22, the agency sent a warning letter to Nashoba Brook Bakery for safety issues, one of them being that it was violating a federal regulation by including the word in the ingredients.
According to the letter from the FDA:
“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 bakery doesn’t agree with the FDA’s determination. “I really like that we list ‘love’ in the granola,” Nashoba CEO John Gates tells 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.”
According to Gates, Nashoba Brook Bakery will comply with all of the FDA’s issues, including the label. In the meantime, the bakery plans to send a response to the agency in the next week.
