It may not have the power of a Pulitzer prize-winning novel or the luridness of a checkout counter tabloid, but the new food label still promises to make for good reading.
New regulations from FDA and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture see to that. They ensure that:
The new food label is reading that can be put to good use, too, because it's designed to help clear up much of the confusion that has prevailed on supermarket shelves. It also can help consumers choose more healthful diets. And it can serve as an incentive to food companies to improve the nutritional qualities of their products.
"[This isn't] just another government program," said FDA Commissioner David Kessler, M.D. "The new food label is an unusual opportunity to help millions of Americans make more informed, healthier food choices."
"We expect the labels also will provide more food companies with an incentive to improve the nutritional quality of their products," said H. Russell Cross, Ph.D., FSIS administrator.
The new labels will start to appear on products this year, although manufacturers have until May 8, 1994, to comply with most of FDA's new labeling requirements and until July 6, 1994, to comply with FSIS', which cover processed meat and poultry products. (FDA regulates labeling of most food products, except for meat and poultry products, which fall under FSIS' jurisdiction.)
The FSIS voluntary point-of-purchase nutrition information program for raw meat and poultry goes into effect then, too. Point-of-purchase information for fresh produce and raw fish has been available in some grocery stores since November 1991.
Advertising is not covered by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, but the Federal Trade Commission has indicated it may apply the same criteria to advertising that FDA and FSIS do to labels.
A Look Back
The changes will mark the first extensive renovation of the food label since 1974, when FDA and USDA established voluntary nutrition labeling and began requiring nutrition information on labels of products that contain added nutrients or that carry nutrition claims. Other than adding sodium as a mandatory and potassium as a voluntary component to the list of nutrients allowed in voluntary nutrition labeling in 1984, the nutrition label has remained essentially the same all that time.
Nutrition labeling wasn't ignored during the interim, though, as Congress, regulators, and consumer and industry groups put forth ideas to overhaul it. Their efforts intensified as consumers became more interested in nutrition, and food marketing strategies began to focus on that interest.
That marketing trend represented a departure from usual practice, according to Ed Scarbrough, Ph.D., director of the Office of Food Labeling in FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
"The line from industry used to be: 'Nutrition won't sell food. It's price, taste and convenience,' " he said. "By the time we got into the 1980s, nutrition clearly was selling products. Industry recognized this and started making claims about the food."
That was both good and bad, Scarbrough said. On the one hand, it gave consumers more information about nutrition. But on the other, claims got pushed to their outer limits as manufacturers scrambled to gain a competitive edge for their products.
"Consumers reacted to that," he said. "They couldn't believe many of the claims being made."
At about the same time, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service and the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council released two reports that lent strong support to development of a new food label. These reports--the 1988 Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health, and the 1989 National Research Council's Diet and Health: Implications for Reducing Chronic Disease Risk--concluded that evidence substantiates an association between diet and risk of chronic disease and recommended similar dietary changes.
Those recommendations reflected what many public health experts had been saying for years: for example, that Americans should reduce their intake of fat (especially saturated fat), cholesterol and sodium; maintain appropriate body weight; and consume adequate amounts of calcium and fiber. The National Research Council's report went so far as to recommend quantitative amounts for certain nutrients.
It soon became apparent, however, that the current food label did not offer enough information to help consumers follow those guidelines. That, coupled with often questionable marketing practices, led to the first serious effort to revamp the food label.
Developing a New Label
The effort got under way in 1989, when FDA published an advance notice of proposed rule-making and, with FSIS, held nationwide hearings to find out what consumers, food manufacturers, and health professionals wanted on the food label.
Early in 1990, FDA began publishing proposals for new food labeling regulations that would, among other things, mandate nutrition labeling for almost all processed foods, limit health claims, establish reference Daily Values for certain nutrients, and define serving sizes.
Later that year, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) became law, mandating numerous changes in food labeling. (The law does not cover meat and poultry products.)
NLEA resembles FDA's 1990 proposals in many ways. For example, it mandates nutrition labeling for almost all processed foods regulated by FDA and authorizes appropriate health claims on the labels of such products. It goes one step further by calling for activities to educate consumers about nutrition information on the label and the importance of using that information in maintaining healthful dietary practices.
According to John Vanderveen, Ph.D., director of FDA's Office of Plant and Dairy Foods and Beverages, the law makes the United States the first country in the world to have mandatory nutrition labeling and to allow health claims on food labels. "We've been pioneers," he said.
In November 1991, FDA announced proposals to implement many of the law's provisions. At the same time, FSIS issued parallel proposed regulations for meat and poultry.
Both agencies reviewed tens of thousands of public comments on the proposals before publishing the final regulations in the Jan. 6, 1993, Federal Register.
As allowed under NLEA, FDA delayed the date by which manufacturers must comply with the nutrition labeling and nutrient content claims provisions of NLEA by one year from the statutory effective date of May 8, 1993. FDA found that the earlier date would cause "undue economic hardship" on industry. FSIS postponed implementation of its regulations until July 1994 for the same reason.
However, consumers may start to see new labels this year, if, as expected, manufacturers seek to make their products among the first with the new food label.
Briefly, here is what consumers can expect to see:
Mandatory Nutrition Labeling
About 90 percent of processed food will carry nutrition information. Among the exemptions will be plain coffee and tea; some spices, flavorings and other foods that contain no significant amounts of nutrients; ready-to-eat food prepared primarily on site, such as deli and bakery items; restaurant food; bulk food that is not resold; and food produced by small businesses. (As required under NLEA, FDA defines a small business as one with food sales of less than $50,000 a year or total sales of less than $500,000. FSIS defines a small business as one that employs 500 or fewer people and produces no more than a certain poundage of product.)
Foods in small packages (generally those no larger than a package of Life Savers, or meat and poultry products less than a half ounce) do not have to have nutrition information on their labels unless they make a nutrition claim. However, FDA-regulated products must carry a telephone number or address consumers can use to get required nutrition information.
Nutrition information is voluntary for many raw foods: the 20 most frequently eaten raw fruits, vegetables and fish, under FDA's voluntary point-of-purchase nutrition information program, and the 45 major cuts of meat and poultry, under USDA's voluntary point-of-purchase program.
Although voluntary, the programs for raw produce, meat, fish, and poultry carry strong incentives for retailers to participate. Guidelines state that if voluntary compliance is found to be insufficient, the agencies may move to make it mandatory.
A revised list of nutrients--selected because of their relationship to current health concerns--will appear on the nutrition panel. Some of the nutrients are carryovers from the previous label: calories, total fat, total carbohydrate, protein, sodium, vitamins A and C, calcium, and iron. The new ones are calories from fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugars, and dietary fiber. No longer required are thiamin, riboflavin and niacin because deficiencies of these vitamins are no longer considered significant public health problems. However, manufacturers may list these and other nutrients if they choose, subject to certain conditions.
Serving sizes specified on labels now will be more uniform across all product lines so that consumers can more easily compare the nutritional qualities of similar products. They also will be closer to the amounts people actually eat.
The amount of certain nutrients will be expressed not only in terms of the amount per serving but also in terms of a percent of a new dietary reference value, called the Daily Value. The "percent Daily Values" will be based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Requiring nutrients to be declared as a percent of the Daily Value is intended to help consumers understand the role of individual foods in the context of the total daily diet.
Any term used to describe the nutrient content of a food will mean the same on every product on which it appears. Also, the list of acceptable claims now includes such descriptors as "free," "low," "light" (or "lite"), "reduced," "less," and "high." "Lean" and "extra lean" also have been defined and will apply specifically to the fat content of meat, including game meat, poultry, and fish.
Claims linking a nutrient or a food to the risk of a disease or health-related condition now will be allowed only under certain circumstances on FDA-regulated products. FDA will allow statements about the relationships between:
There are strict requirements about when and how these claims can be used.
Full ingredient labeling will appear on all processed, packaged foods, including standardized foods such as mayonnaise, macaroni and bread, which previously were exempt.
Also, for the first time, the ingredient list will include, when appropriate:
Economic Impact
It is estimated that the new food label will cost FDA-regulated food processors between $1.4 billion and $2.3 billion over the next 20 years. However, the benefits to public health--measured in monetary terms--are estimated to well exceed the costs. Potential benefits include decreased rates of coronary heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, and allergic reactions to food.
Public Education
To help consumers get the most from the new food label, FDA and USDA have embarked on a multi-year food labeling education campaign. The campaign involves participation by consumer, trade and health groups, as well as by other government agencies. Its purpose is to increase consumers' knowledge and effective use of the new food label and assist them in making accurate and sound dietary choices in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
"The food label of the future will have more information and be more complicated," FDA's Scarbrough said. "Its usefulness will be diminished unless consumers are taught what to do with the information."
Fred Shank, Ph.D., director of FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and other nutrition experts acknowledge that the task of teaching consumers how to use the new label will be formidable.
"It's been a long haul," Shank said about efforts to revamp the label. "But the greatest challenge lies ahead--in educating consumers."
Paula Kurtzweil is a member of FDA's public affairs staff.
1913 The Gould Amendment requires food packages to state the quantity of contents.
1924 In U.S. v. 95 Barrels Alleged Apple Cider Vinegar, the Supreme Court rules that the Food and Drugs Act condemns every statement, design or device which may mislead, misdirect or deceive, even if technically true.
1938 The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act replaces the 1906 Food and Drugs Act. Among other things, it requires the label of every processed, packaged food to contain the name of the food, its net weight, and the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor. A list of ingredients also is required on certain products. The law also prohibits statements in food labeling that are false or misleading.
1950 The Oleomargarine Act requires prominent labeling of colored oleomargarine to distinguish it from butter.
1957 The Poultry Products Inspection Act authorizes USDA to regulate, among other things, the labeling of poultry products.
1966 The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act requires all consumer products in interstate commerce to contain accurate information and to facilitate value comparisons.
1969 The White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health addresses deficiencies in the U.S. diet. It recommends that the federal government consider developing a system for identifying the nutritional qualities of food.
1973 FDA issues regulations requiring nutrition labeling on food containing one or more added nutrients or whose label or advertising includes claims about the food's nutritional properties or its usefulness in the daily diet. Nutrition labeling is voluntary for almost all other foods.
1975 Voluntary nutrition labeling, postponed from its originally planned 1974 date, goes into effect.
1984 FDA adds sodium to the list of required, and potassium to the list of optional, nutrients on the nutrition panel. Effective in 1985, the new regulation also defines terms, such as "low sodium," that may be used on labels to make sodium-content claims.
1988 Surgeon General C. Everett Koop releases The Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health, the federal government's first formal recognition of the role of diet in certain chronic diseases.
1989 The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences issues Diet and Health: Implications for Reducing Chronic Disease Risk, which presents additional evidence of the growing acceptance of diet as a factor in the development of chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease and cancer.
Under contract with FDA and USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences convenes a committee to consider how food labels could be improved to help consumers adopt or adhere to healthy diets. Its recommendations are presented in Nutrition Labeling: Issues and Directions for the 1990s.
FDA publishes an advance notice of proposed rule-making on food labeling and, with FSIS participating, holds a series of four public hearings around the country.
1990 FDA proposes extensive food labeling changes, which include mandatory nutrition labeling for most foods, standardized serving sizes, and uniform use of health claims.
The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act reaffirms the legal basis for FDA's labeling initiative and establishes an explicit timetable.
1991 FDA issues more than 20 proposals to implement NLEA. In addition, the agency issues a final rule that sets up a voluntary point-of-purchase nutrition information program for raw produce and fish. FSIS unveils its proposals for mandatory nutrition labeling of processed meat and poultry and voluntary point-of-purchase nutrition information for raw meat and poultry.
1992 FDA's voluntary point-of-purchase nutrition information program for fresh produce and raw fish goes into effect.
1993 FDA issues the final regulations implementing NLEA. Regulations covering health claims become effective May 8, 1993. Those pertaining to nutrition labeling and nutrient content claims are effective May 8, 1994.
FSIS issues regulations for nutrition labeling of meat and poultry, effective July 6, 1994.
--P.K.
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