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1992.12.02 : Regulation -- Labeling for Processed Foods

Contact:  Brad Stone  (FDA) (202) 205-4144
December 2, 1992

         HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., today announced
agreement on final regulations which for the first time will
provide for consistent, scientifically based labeling for nearly
all processed foods.  
         The rules, aimed at providing consumers with better
information about the nutritional values of foods, constitute the
most extensive food labeling reform in the country's history.  
       Under the agreement announced today, consumers will find a
single nutrition label format on virtually all processed foods. 
Foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration will be
required to provide the label under the HHS rules announced
today; processed foods regulated by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture will bear the same nutrition label under today's
agreement.
       "The Tower of Babel in food labels has come down, and
American consumers are the winners," Secretary Sullivan said. 
"For the first time, consumers will be able to use a single
format for virtually all processed foods to compare nutrition
values and make healthy choices."
       The new labels could appear on some foods by mid-1993. 
They will be required under the final regulations in 1994.
       Secretary Sullivan called the new provisions "a watershed"
and a powerful new tool for consumers seeking healthier diets.
       "Science tells us that the right diet can promote good
health," Secretary Sullivan said.  "Now American consumers will
have a label they can trust to help them select the foods they
need to stay healthy."   
       In one key change, the nutrition panel on the label will
have a new, more complete format.  The panel will include not
only nutrient contents of the specific food product, but also
information on the relationship of the ingredients to an average
daily caloric intake.
       Other new provisions to ensure accuracy and improve label
usefulness for consumers include consistency in the presentation
of serving sizes, definitions for nine core descriptive terms
such as "light" and "low fat," and provisions for health claims
which may be made by prepared foods containing specific
nutrients.
       "Quite simply, the new label will provide a consistent
tool to help consumers select healthier diets," Secretary
Sullivan said.  "As such, it will also be a powerful incentive to
the food industry to offer a greater variety of healthy food
choices."
       Dr. Sullivan said a nationwide consumer education campaign
will be launched to help acquaint consumers with the new label
provisions and assist them in using the information to full
advantage.
       Among the highlights of today's announcement are
provisions that:  

       *Expand nutrition labeling to nearly all processed foods,
including far more comprehensive, consistent and intelligible
information on serving sizes, nutrients and other elements.

       *Standardize definitions for descriptive terms such as
"light," "low sodium" and "high fiber" so that they mean only one
thing for nearly all foods.
       *Allow scientifically established, standard health claims
for nutrients in foods that have been shown to help reduce the
risk of disease.
       Permitted health claims are those that cite relationships
between calcium and osteoporosis; sodium and hypertension; fat
and cancer; fat and heart disease; fiber-containing foods and
cancer; 
fiber-containing foods and heart disease; and foods such as
fruits, vegetables and whole grains that are high in antioxidant
vitamins (including vitamin C) and cancer.  The new rules also
acknowledge a benefit for folic acid for women of child-bearing
age, but food labeling to that effect must await further study on
how to avoid potentially hazardous overuse.

       "In the past, food labeling has been incomplete and
inconsistent," said FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D.  "But
today we are entering into an era of straight talk and science-
based integrity for our food labels."

       The new rules, administered by the Food and Drug
Administration for most foods, are required to carry out
provisions of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. 
Although NLEA does not cover meat and poultry products, which are
under USDA's jurisdiction, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection
Service has proposed labeling requirements for these foods, and
has agreed to use labeling consistent with FDA-regulated foods.

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