The legislation takes effect in July 2018 for food companies with sales of over $10 million a year and a year later for companies with sales of less below that amount.
Monday, May 23, 2016
Most food manufacturers will have to use the new label by July 26, 2018, but those whose food sales are less than $10 million per year will have an additional year to comply with the requirement. The FDA plans to carry out publicity and education work on the new requirements.
From a statement issued by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States:
Key Updates
The new Nutrition Facts label will include the following.
An updated design to highlight “calories” and “servings,” two important elements in making informed food choices.
Requirements for serving sizes that more closely reflect the amounts of food that people currently eat. What and how much people eat and drink has changed since the last serving size requirements were published in 1993. By law, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, requires that serving sizes be based on what people actually eat.
Declaration of grams and a percent daily value (%DV) for “added sugars” to help consumers know how much sugar has been added to the product. It is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10 percent of your total daily calories from added sugars, and this is consistent with the scientific evidence supporting the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Dual column” labels to indicate both “per serving” and “per package” calorie and nutrition information for certain multi-serving food products that could be consumed in one sitting or multiple sittings. Examples include a pint of ice cream and a 3-ounce bag of chips. With dual-column labels available, people will be able to easily understand how many calories and nutrients they are getting if they eat or drink the entire package/unit at one time.
For packages that are between one and two servings, such as a 20 ounce soda, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as one serving because people typically consume it in one sitting.
Updated daily values for nutrients like sodium, dietary fiber and vitamin D, consistent with Institute of Medicine recommendations and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Daily values are reference amounts of nutrients to consume or not to exceed and are used to calculate the %DV that manufacturers include on the label.
Declaration of Vitamin D and potassium that will include the actual gram amount, in addition to the %DV. These are nutrients that some people are not getting enough of, which puts them at higher risk for chronic disease. The %DV for calcium and iron will continue to be required, along with the actual gram amount. Vitamins A and C will no longer be required because deficiencies of these vitamins are rare, but these nutrients can be included on a voluntary basis.
“Calories from Fat” will be removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount. “Total Fat,” “Saturated Fat,” and “Trans Fat” will continue to be required.
An abbreviated footnote to better explain the %DV.
As of December 13 all processed and packaged food and beverages to be sold in the European Union must include detailed nutritional information.
From a statement issued by PROCOMER:
In 2014 in the European Union, the European Regulation on Information and Food Labelling (Regulation 1169/2011) came into force.The standard improves labeling on all products in order to provide useful, readable and understandable information to consumers.
The FDA now requires calorie information to be included on menus of restaurants, chain, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations.
From a statement issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) US:
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States has finalized two regulations requiring the inclusion of calorie information on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants, similar retail food establishments and vending machines with 20 or more locations, in order to offer consumers greater nutritional information on food eaten outside of the home. The regulations are a requirement of the law on Affordable Health Care and Patient Protection 2010.
The new labels will be red, yellow and green, highlighting the percentages of fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar and energy in food products.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The new front facing labeling system which aims to help consumers verify the healthy attributes of food products, is being introduced in all supermarkets in the UK.
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