How Changes to Nutritional Labeling May Affect You
Aug. 1, 2017
In May of 2016, the FDA made several changes to nutrition labeling requirements. If you manufacture a food product, these changes may affect the way you label your products. Here's what you need to know.
New Nutrition Labeling Requirements
Increased size font for certain parts of the label. Food manufacturers must now increase the typeface for serving size, number of servings per container, and the number of calories per serving.
Declaration of the amount of certain nutrients. Food manufacturers must now print the actual amount of potassium, calcium, iron, and vitamin D contained in a food product, in addition to the Percent Daily Value.
Declaration of added sugars. Nutrition labels must now include how many grams of added sugars a product contains, as well as the Percent Daily Value.
Some required nutrients are now voluntary. Food manufacturers no longer have to include how much vitamin A and vitamin C is contained in a food product but can do so voluntarily. Other vitamins and minerals besides calcium, potassium, iron, and vitamin D may also be voluntarily included on a product's nutrition label.
Removal of calories from fat. The FDA once required nutrition labels to list the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, total fat, and calories from fat. However, new labeling requirements no longer include calories from fat.
Changes to serving sizes based on what people actually consume. Some food packaging contains between one and two servings of a food or beverage item. For these packages, the nutrition labels must list the entire contents of the package as a single serving. For example, a bottle of soda may technically be 1.5 servings, but people will usually drink the entire bottle of soda. Therefore, manufacturers must consider how a person will consume the product as packaged and adjust the nutritional facts and serving size accordingly. Some products will need to have a dual nutritional column that lists both the nutritional information for a single serving and the nutritional information for the entire package. For example, a candy bar may be eaten in portions or all at once, and new labeling requirements will allow consumers to better understand what they're eating or drinking.
Get Help Meeting FDA Nutrition Label Requirements
The new changes to the FDA nutrition label requirements can be confusing for manufacturers. Get help ensuring that your labeling is up to speed by consulting with a seasoned FDA lawyer. Contact FDAlaw.net today for more information by calling.