the horror is the situation this places on folks with allergies. I have to depend on these labels...

I have oftened wondered how accurate they are ----scary

Testing for every single thing that is on a nutrition label costs more than $125. Any lab that claims that they can do all of the testing for that amount of money is not legitimate.

Brian is right, I sold food packaging for 20 years and there was not much attention paid to changes in formulations of many products. The problem is food manufacturers change ingredient suppliers often and the levels of sugar, salt and fats are the most likely to be impacted. The problem for the food manufacturer is they sometimes purchase millions of dollars worth of packaging at one time to be cost effective. Imagine if you had to trash this amount of packaging every time your ingredient levels varied 5 or 10%. Food manufacturing and ingredient levels are not an exact science in the quantities most of them produce in.
Hope that sheds some light, the food manufacturers are really not the bad guys.

The label examples are actually quite telling for those items mentioned. If you are buying them, you probably do not give a crap about your diet anyway. Coconut pie: As fattening as you can get, even without sugar. Sugar free syrup: For your carbo packed pancakes or waffles? Sugar in Apple Walnut Muffins: Look at the fat content in those and why even worry about the sugar (unless you are diabetic, then you probably should not eat a whole one anyway). Fat exceeding labels in hamburger buns: As if you are eating fat-free hamburgers? Sugar content in Prune Juice: Every fruit juice is super high in sugars.
THE SOLUTION: Keep it simple and make it yourself. Eat less. By consuming fewer total calories you will not have to worry so much about proportions of fat and sugar. Go for foods with high protein content. Skipping a meal is not bad for you as is so often misstated. It is a great way to burn your reserves and lose body fat over time without a lot of suffering. It also COSTS LESS to EAT LESS and to make it yourself from scratch, knowing what is actually in your food.

But the voters always want to hear smaller government, less regulation ("government on the backs of business"), lower taxes, etc. without realizing the connection between regulation and protection.

You are so correct. If we can't hold the FDA (FOOD and DRUG Administration) accountable, then who? Since they are so overwhelmed and understaffed (what a cop-out!) and can not do their job properly, then why do we continue to pour money into a defunk orginization?

Actually MSG can be found naturally occuring in some foods. We even have independent taste receptors for its flavor, "umami", on our tongues!

Not only have they wanted to call MSG something else, they also spell it out as monosodium glutamate on the ingredients lists so that people who aren't aware of the full name don't know they're eating MSG additives

I fully agree. Couldn't have said it better myself.

Shaklee Corporation, 300 natural products.....300 controlled test, 83,000 a year............compared to other companies 1-2 a year.............it is a joke what is going on with products, supplements so forth........fda is a joke we must be our very own advocate.....google shaklee and see what you find.
been using products for 16 years, quality

Kathy,
Please explain what you mean when you say government will run healthcare.....details please

Sweetie, these labels are being printed by FOR PROFIT businesses, not the government. They want to make a profit and don't give a damn about you. Do you want a CEO who expects a$1.6 BILLION paycheck, like United Healthcare's Bill McGuire making your healthcare decisions? Not me - been there, done that, almost died when treatment was denied. I'll take the government any day over that.