April 4, 1984

The United States and the Soviet Union have held talks that are reported to have covered plans for negotiations on consular exchanges. Secretary of State George P. Shultz met with Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin on Monday, John Hughes, the State Department spokesman, said today. In Moscow, Arthur A. Hartman, the United States Ambassador, met today with Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko, the department said. A Soviet source here said Mr. Dobrynin had conveyed a note from the Soviet leadership to Mr. Shultz, responding to American messages and denying that the Soviet Union was to denying that the Soviet Union was to blame for the lack of progress in relations. The State Department and the White House would not confirm that such a note had been delivered.

The House of Representatives, by a 355-to-34 vote, approved legislation today to prohibit merchants from demanding extra fees from credit-card customers through mid-1985. The measure was sent to the Senate, which has favored an end to the ban. In February the Senate sent the House legislation extending the ban only to May 15 of this year, after first voting to abolish it entirely.

The war that divided the nation a decade ago divided the State Legislature today as Senate leaders blocked a bill to aid Vietnam veterans because the leading Assembly sponsor of the bill had been a conscientious objector to that war. There was talk once more of honor and principle, service and disgrace - and complaints that the arguments were at the expense of Vietnam veterans who would benefit from the tuition-assistance program in the stalled legislation. The leading Assembly sponsor of the tuition bill is John F. Duane, a freshman Democrat from Queens. In 1972, he was granted conscientious objector status because of his religious beliefs as a Roman Catholic.

The Towner Petroleum Company said yesterday that Selim K. Zilkha, who recently invested in the company and was named its chairman, has been elected to the additional post of chief executive. Mr. Zilkha and Ronald I. Simon, a financial consultant, have invested $25 million in the company's new issue of series B convertible preferred stock. Mr. Simon is now an executive vice president.

THERE is much good to be said for those who eat such wholesome foods as whole-grain breads and cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables, entrees low in fat and salt, desserts low in sugar and beverages free of caffeine. People who approach dining, both at home and in restaurants, with reason and moderation as their guides can expect an improvement in well-being and a decreased risk of developing such diet-related disorders as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and obesity. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, reason is supplanted by a fervor that sings the praises of a host of foods of questionable, and sometimes negative, nutritional value. Myths abound in the health food industry and, experts say, many believers are being hoodwinked. Even supermarket shoppers are subject to PERSONAL HEALTHhealth-food hype since major food producers, seeking to cash in on health concerns, now offer many foods with such nutritionally misleading catchwords as ''natural,'' ''no preservatives,'' ''sweetened with honey,'' ''no cholesterol,'' ''no added sugar,'' and the like. And in restaurants, consumers have even less to guide them since menus do not provide a detailed list of ingredients. As a result, in their desire to improve their health through better eating, some people are actually endangering it. And they are paying premium prices for the privilege of doing so.