Is Margarine Food?

WASHINGTON—FDA and manufacturer McNeil Consumer Products are still discussing how best to handle Benecol, a margarine the company claims can lower cholesterol.

If the Ft. Washington, Pa.-based McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is allowed to sell food as a dietary supplement, a new functional food category may be created. If not, FDA will likely begin blocking sales of similar products coming to market.

Benecol is fortified with stanol ester, the plant equivalent of cholesterol. Results from a Mayo Clinic study showed that when eaten regularly, the margarine reduced subjects' blood levels of LDL cholesterol by 14 percent.