Ad scams.

Have you noticed? Food companies aren't making so many deceptive claims about fat and cholesterol these days. That's probably because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cracked down on misleading label claims and the food industry fears that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) might get tough on ads, too.

So what's an ad agency to do?

One of the most popular new scams is to suggest that if a food is low-fat, you can eat it 'til the cows come home. Another is to imply that adding vitamins and minerals to a food automatically makes it healthy.

There's no end to the food industry's ingenuity. And, as usual, the business-friendly FTC - which is supposed to regulate advertising - has been left in the dust. Here are some of the ads that are doing the leaving.

GNC Herbal Plus

Multi-Ginseng

Vigor and vitality. Who wouldn't like more? That's what makes General Nutrition Center's commercial so appealing.

"Oh, you look down in the dumps," says the friendly GNC salesperson. Her solution? Buy some Herbal Plus Multi-Ginseng Soft Gel Capsules. After all, she explains, they're "a special blend of four prize ginseng extracts," which makes them "four times as potent."

Four times as potent as what? Without an explanation, the Food and Drug Administration would never let GNC make that claim on the product's label.

Nor would the FDA allow GNC to say that its ginseng can "help boost vigor and vitality." Maybe it does, but it sure would be nice to see some credible evidence that ginseng-takers are more energetic. (What's more, some ginseng supplements don't even have much ginseng, according to the November issue of Consumer Reports.)

But who cares what the FDA would or wouldn't allow on a product's label? Companies know that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a whole other ball game.

Sunny

Delight

You'll find orange juice in just about every ad for Sunny Delight. You just won't find much orange juice in Sunny Delight.

In the ads, the Sunny Delight is always next to the OJ, just as it is in many supermarkets. How convenient, since "Sunny D is enriched with vitamins A, B-1, and a full day's supply of vitamin C. Which means you don't have to be torn between giving them what they want, and what they need. "

The message is clear: Sunny Delight is as good as orange juice. The only difference is that kids like it better.

Hogwash.

The National Cancer Institute says that children - and adults - should eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Orange juice is a delicious way to get at least one. So what does Procter & Gamble do? It tries to convince parents that a drink that's only five percent orange juice - and that isn't much cheaper - is as good as the real thing ... as long as it has a few vitamins thrown in.

Why don't Americans eat healthier diets? Ask P&G.

Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing Mix

"There's an entire garden in every packet of Italian dressing," says this Good Seasons ad. "We think Italian dressing should have plenty of zest, so we boldly put together an entire symphony of vegetables, herbs and spices."

Oops. Good Seasons forgot to mention that its symphony is short a couple of instruments. The ad lists six ingredients: garlic, onions, black pepper, red bell pepper, carrots, and parsley. It doesn't let on that the mix has more sugar, salt, and sodium citrate than any vegetable or herb. And as for that enormous red pepper in the ad: the amount in each two-tablespoon serving of dressing turns out to be about the size of a fingernail clipping ... a small fingernail clipping.

Want a good, quick dressing? For eight to ten cups of salad, mix two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and one tablespoon of olive oil with a little dijon mustard, minced fresh garlic or garlic powder, and fresh ground pepper. If you're feeling bold, throw in a little horseradish. Then spend the money you saved to treat yourself to a whole red pepper.

Boost Nutritional Energy Drink

Boost Nutritional Energy Drink. The name alone could sell this dollar-a-can concoction. But why stop there?

"No one knows how to reverse the aging process," says the commercial. "But we do know that proper nutrition is one of the keys to staying healthy and active."

Can't argue with that. But Boost's vision of "proper nutrition" turns out to be water, sugar, milk protein, oils, artificial colors and flavors, vitamins, and minerals. That's the perfect food for when "we're just too busy to eat right"?

Even busy people have time for an apple, a cup of low-fat yogurt, a whole-grain roll, some lentil soup, or one of the dozens of other healthy convenience foods now available. A fortified, sweetened, milk-and-oil drink is only perfect for Boost's manufacturer - Mead-Johnson, the folks who brought you Sustacal formula for seniors - because it fortifies the company's profits.

By the way, don't give "energy" drinks more credit than they deserve. According to FDA rules, a food with "energy" simply means a food with calories. Do the Feds have a sense of humor or what?

Sustacal

America is aging. And that spells marketing opportunity to some companies. Mead-Johnson, which makes Sustacal, wants you to believe that its "meal replacement" for seniors will "add life to your years."

That's why this commercial shows a couple of fun-loving older Sustacal-drinkers tooling along in a classic Thunderbird convertible while another pair of oldsters, in a sedate sedan, somberly sip on Ross Laboratory's Ensure, Sustacal's biggest competitor.

Well, guess what? You don't need either Sustacal or Ensure.

Both were originally designed for hospital patients - people who are too sick to eat. Healthy older people don't need to shell out even a penny of their fixed incomes for cans of water, sugar, casein (milk protein), partially hydrogenated oil, soy protein, salt, artificial flavors, vitamins, and minerals. Why not? Because they can eat food - food with nutrients, fiber, phytochemicals, and who knows what other healthful constitutents that Mead-Johnson doesn't add.

It's no coincidence that Mead-Johnson and Ross Labs are two of the largest manufacturers of infant formula. So they've got plenty of experience in how to con shoppers into buying things they don't need.

Kellogg's Low-Fat

Pop-Tarts

"A whole new kind of breakfast." That's how the commercials describe Kellogg's new Low-Fat Pop-Tarts. New? Hardly.

You're really getting the same old Pop-Tarts. It's just that the fat has gone from five grams per tart to three. Getting rid of that extra bit of grease is nice, but since when does that make Pop-Tarts a health food?

Each tart is still essentially a slice of white bread with jam, a tablespoon of frosting (in some flavors), and a tenth of a vitamin pill.

The "incredibly fruity filling" the commercial raves about may taste and look fruity (thanks to the artificial flavors and food dyes), but fruit-filled it isn't. Each tart has more corn syrup, dextrose, cracker meal, and modified wheat starch than berries.

And get that punch line (the "taste is low in fat, which only makes you want to tango to the toaster for another"). There's nary a mention that a two-tart dance will cost you 400 calories. So don't fall for the "it's-low-fat-so-eat-all-you-want" scam.

Total Cereal

Total is a low-sugar whole grain cereal. Nothing wrong with that. And it's fortified with a day's worth of 12 vitamins and minerals. That makes it nice for people who want a vitamin pill without the pill.

So why the heck does General Mills insist on being so tricky when it markets Total? Its latest commercials show unsuspecting shredded wheat or Special K eaters verging on nausea as they're told how many extra foods they'd have to eat to get all the vitamins and minerals in Total.

"Well you could try strawberries for vitamin C" and "lima beans for iron," says one ad. "A little banana for B-6" and "mackerel for B- 1 2," says another.

Yes, the tiny print on the screen notes that "these foods supply other nutrients - eat a balanced diet." But even if you're fast enough to read it, that doesn't tell the whole story.

Eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, and other foods doesn't just supply a handful of nutrients. It lowers your risk of cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. General Mills's commercials imply that foods are nothing more than their vitamins and minerals. All that to sell a healthy cereal.

BEANS

1 cup frozen corn kernels 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans small red onion, to yield 1/4 cup chopped 1 small red pepper, to yield 1/2 cup chopped 1 1/2 jalapeno pepper 1 small bunch cilantro, to yield 1/4 cup chopped 2 Tbs. fresh lime juice 1/8 tsp. salt Freshly ground black pepper

Add a tablespoon or two of water to the corn and cook for a couple of minutes. Drain the beans and rinse thoroughly. Chop the onion and red pepper; wash, seed, and mince the jalapeno. Wash, dry, and chop the cilantro.

Drain the corn and combine it with the beans, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. Serves 2.

PER SERVING

Calories:274 Total Fat: 1 g (3% of cals.) Soduim: 146 mg Sat. Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg

CURRIED GREEN AND

POTATOES

16 ounces tiny new potatoes 16 ounces mixed greens such as mustard, collard, kale, turnip, beet, or dandelion 1 large clove garlic 1 tsp. olive oil 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. ground coriander 1/2 tsp. turmeric 1/8 to 114 tsp. hot red pepper flakes 2 cups canned crushed no-salt-added tomatoes 2 slices crusty bread

Scrub but do not peel the potatoes. In a covered pot, boil the potatoes in water to cover 17 to 20 minutes, until they are just cooked. Trim all the tough stems from the greens; wash the greens well and break into small pieces.

Mince the garlic. Heat the oil in a nonstick pan large enough to hold all the ingredients; add the greens and garlic. When the greens begin to soften add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, red pepper flakes, and tomatoes; reduce the heat and continue cooking.

Drain the potatoes and cut them into bite-size pieces. Add them to the greens and continue cooking over low heat to blend the flavors well. Serve with the crusty bread. Serves 2.

PER SERVING

Calories:412 Total Fat: 4 g (9% of cals.) Soduim: 277 mg Sat. Fat 1 g Cholesterol: 0 mg

JAMAICAN

CHICKEN

1/2 to 1 bunch chives, to yield 1/4 cup chopped 1 clove garlic 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 2 tsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce 3 Tbs. golden or dark rum 16 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts 1 Tbs. corn or canola oil 2 Tbs. brown sugar 6 ounces whole onion or 5 ounces chopped ready-cut onion (1 1/3 cups)

Wash, dry, and chop the chives; mince the garlic. Combine the Worcestershire, soy sauce, rum, chives, and garlic in a bowl. Wash and dry the chicken and place in the bowl with the marinade, turning to coat both sides.

Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the brown sugar and cook until it is almost completely melted. Remove the chicken from the marinade, add to the skillet, and brown on both sides.

Chop the whole onion. When the chicken is brown, add the marinade and onion and cook about I 0 minutes longer, until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are soft. Serves 3.

PER SERVING

Calories: 308 Total Fat: 9 g (26% of cals.) Soduim: 236 mg Sat. Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 94 mg

SESAME BROCCOLI

24 ounces whole broccoli or 14 ounces ready-cut broccoli florets (5 to 6 cups) 2 tsp. Asian sesame oil 1 Tbs. rice vinegar 11/2 tsp. sesame seeds Freshly ground black pepper

Remove the tough stems from the whole broccoli; cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Steam over simmering water about 7 minutes, until the broccoli is tender but still crisp. Meanwhile, in a serving dish mix together the oil, vinegar, and sesame seeds. When the broccoli is cooked, drain and mix gently with the dressing to coat. Season with pepper. Serves 3.