|
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) have outlined a number of specific requirements for the labeling of food and beverage products. According to the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, food containers must be clearly labeled with a statement of identity, statement of net contents, list of ingredients, and a list of required nutritional facts.
The FDA’s regulations for nutritional labeling include a specific format, mandatory contents, and voluntary contents. Information listed in the required Nutritional Facts panel must include the following values: total calories, calories from fat, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron. The following facts may be included voluntarily: calories from saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, potassium, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, sugar alcohol, other carbohydrate, percent of vitamin A present as beta-carotene, and other essential vitamins and minerals. Only the mandatory and voluntary nutritional facts are permitted in the Nutritional Facts panel.
There are some exemptions to these nutritional labeling requirements. Food intended for children under the age of two must not bear any information regarding certain fats or calories because parents may associate these nutrients with health hazards whereas they are necessary to child growth and development.
The FDA and CFSAN have also outlined regulations concerning the placement of these required statements. The front panel of a package must bear a statement identifying the item and the net quantity of the item’s contents. A side information panel, preferably located to the immediate right of the front panel, should be populated with the name and address of the product’s manufacturer, packer, or distributor, a list of ingredients, and the required nutritional facts.
Information listed on food products should be easily read in a font no smaller than 1/16” in height. The required information must also be conspicuously located with high contrast between the background color and font color. There should also be no intervening material on the information panel such as an image or irrelevant information that could distract from the required labeling.
Please consult the following sources for further information and exceptions to these requirements:
|
|
