US food regulator tells bakery to remove 'love' as a granola bar ingredient

A Massachusetts US-based bakery's granola may be made with love, but federal officials say it should not be listed as an ingredient on the package.

Nashoba Brook Bakery, in Concord, has been told by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the label on its Nashoba Granola bars lists "love" among its components and that needs to change.

In a letter posted this week, the FDA said federal regulations require that ingredients must be listed by their common or usual name, and that "love" is not a common or usual name of an ingredient.

"Our investigators obtained the labels that your firm uses for your Nashoba Granola product. We have reviewed your labels and identified violations of the food labelling regulations, 21 CFR Part 101, which causes the products discussed below to be mis-branded within the meaning of Section 403 of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 343]," the FDA warned the bakery in a written notice.

The bakery's chief executive officer John Gates, said he was taken aback by the notice but his outfit has gotten a positive reaction from people since news of the FDA notice began to circulate in local news media.

He added that it's tapped into a feeling a lot of Americans have that the government can overreach, adding that it all "seems silly."