• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11:30 AM

Heinz has been touting the benefits of lycopene for years, saying that a "tomato-rich diet may lower the risk of prostate cancer and certain chronic ailments, including heart disease and other cancers," reduce cholesterol and fight osteoporosis to boot.

Last week, the FDA announced that food makers should limit claims that tomatoes and lycopene can forestall cancers. In an article published by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, it says there is no credible evidence linking lycopene--a pigment that gives tomatoes and watermelon flesh their red coloring--to the prevention of lung, rectal, breast or uterine cancers. And there is "very limited evidence" tomatoes cut the risk of prostate cancer.

Bottles of Heinz ketchup merely mentioned the presence of lycopene--alluding to its status as an antioxidant--without suggesting what exactly antioxidants or lycopene do. They suggest that consumers visit www.lycopene.org--which is owned by Heinz--for more information on the latest research." They can point to such evidence on the Internet, but not on the packaging, because different rules apply to different methods of communication.

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