Center for Science in the Public Interest

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) was founded in 1971 with the purpose of evaluating the effects of science and technology on society and promoting national policies responsive to the interests of consumers. Most CSPI funding is supplied by individual donors and the approximately 900,000 subscribers to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, and [Page 122]about 5 to 10 percent comes from private foundation grants; CSPI accepts no government grants or corporate support, and the Nutrition Action Healthletter accepts no advertising. The CSPI office is located in Washington, DC.

The Nutrition Action Healthletter, which first appeared in 1974, is currently published 10 times a year by CSPI and has the largest circulation of any health newsletter in North America. The Healthletter is a popular journal that includes articles about health and nutrition, deceptive advertising and faulty science related to food products, editorials, and feature stories. Many articles are available through the Healthletter website.

The three main goals of CSPI, according to its mission statement, are to conduct research and provide useful and objective information to the public and policy makers concerning food, alcohol, health, the environment, and other science and technology issues; to represent the interests of citizens on food, alcohol, health, the environment, and other issues before regulatory, judicial, and legislative bodies; and to encourage scientists to engage in public-interest activities and ensure that science and technology are used for the public good.

Many of CSPI's efforts have involved promoting legislation banning dangerous food additives or requiring informative labels on food products. One of CSPI's early campaigns was launched in 1973 to bar the use of sodium nitrite in bacon and other cured meats; this campaign ultimately resulted in lower levels of nitrites in many foods. Sodium labeling of all foods and fat-content labeling of processed meats was the result of a CSPI petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1978; CSPI efforts resulted in a new FDA rule requiring such labeling in 1982.

In 1982, CSPI began an effort to ban sulfite preservatives in most fresh foods; this effort succeeded in 1987. In 1988, CSPI succeeded in championing a federal law requiring a health warning label on alcohol beverage containers. In 1994, CSPH campaigned for labeling of transfats in foods, an effort that succeeded in 2003. In 2000, CSPI was successful in promoting legislation providing funding for more food safety inspections and expanded bacteria testing for meat. In 2004, CSPI successfully convinced Congress to require disclosure on food labels of common allergens such as peanuts, wheat, and eggs.

In 1993, CSPI began the first of a series of investigative reports into the nutritional value of restaurant foods. The first focus was Chinese restaurants, because Chinese food was often believed to be a particularly healthy cuisine. However, the CSPI report revealed that many popular Chinese restaurant foods contained unhealthy amounts of fat, cholesterol, calories, and salt and recommended that portions be divided among several diners and that popular dishes like Moo Shu Pork and Kung Pao Chicken should be consumed alongside equal parts of rice and in conjunction with dishes based on steamed vegetables, which are much lower in fat and calories.

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