Food Label News: Out-of-Compliance Food
Labels - Who Cares
Volume 8, Number 5 - May 2007
IN
THIS ISSUE:
Reader Q&A: Label Statements
for MyPyramid
Out-of-Compliance
Food Labels - Who Cares
Certain
Foods May Be Expelled From School
Proposed
FDA Regulation - Irradiation on Food Labels
Service
Tip: Label Claims Help
About
Food Consulting Company
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knowing my work was being done right. Your
team shows a high degree of expertise and
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Food Consulting Company to do my label work.
Again I thank you for the incredible job!"
~
David Funaro
FoodNerds LLC
Greetings
to our clients and guest subscribers! We
work to get your products properly labeled
and positioned in the best light within
the law so that your efforts can be focused
on maximizing product sales. Visit our Services
Page for information on Full Label Compliance
and Annual Regulatory Support; see our Reader
Q&A Page for answers to featured questions
from Food Label News subscribers.
Q.
Can I use my product label to tell how my
food fits into MyPyramid guidelines?
S.P., Established Food Manufacturer, Michigan
A.
FDA has not issued formal guidance on using
MyPyramid on food labels, but in conversations
with Food Consulting Company the Agency
has referred to USDA's guidance document
to explain how MyPyramid can be used on
FDA-regulated food labels. Read more at
Reader Q&A Page.
Submit
a question for Reader Q&A (no charge).
Out-of-Compliance
Food Labels - Who Cares
Food labels are routinely scrutinized for
compliance with FDA regulations and for
integrity of the various claims printed
on food labels.
FDA
posts warning letters on the FDA website.
According to a spokesperson for FDA's Center
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA
learns of non-compliant labels on foods
via random checks, checks during inspections,
consumer groups, individual consumers, competitors,
etc. Warning letters direct food packagers
to correct problem labels or face further
FDA action.
One
well-known consumer watch group (CSPI, Center
for Science in the Public Interest) established
a litigation project in 2005. Food Label
News reported on the project in June 2005.
The group remains active and most recently
forced an agreement by Quaker Oats Company
to drop certain claims on labels and in
advertising that the litigation group says
exaggerated the health benefits of eating
oatmeal.
Commentary:
FDA warning letters can be instructive for
labelers. Recent letters have addressed
noncompliance with ingredient statements
and allergen labeling. See FDA warning letters.
CSPI
frequently threatens a company with litigation
for claims the organization deems as misleading
or not truthful. See CSPI press releases.
Certain
Foods May Be Expelled From School
On April 25, 2007, the Institute of Medicine
of the National Academies published "Nutrition
Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading
the Way toward Healthier Youth." The
report follows a mandate by Congress for
the Center for Disease Control and the Institute
of Medicine to review and recommend appropriate
nutritional standards for foods available
at school.
In
part the report specifies complex standards
for what foods can and cannot be served
in schools, including:limits on calories,
fat, trans fat, sodium, and added sugar
per food portion as packaged minimums for
how much fruit, vegetable or whole grain
must be present in combination foods per
portion limits on when sport drinks and
beverages with nonnutritive sweeteners can
be available
The
report recommends incorporating the nutrition
standards into school wellness policies
and passing supportive legislation or regulation
at federal, state or local levels.
Also on the horizon for changing what can
and cannot be served/provided in schools
are U.S. House of Representatives (H.R.1363)
and Senate (S.771) bills that would amend
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to improve
the nutrition and health of schoolchildren
by updating the definition of "food
of minimal nutritional value" to conform
to current nutrition science. Read
nutrition standards report.
Proposed
FDA Regulation - Irradiation on Food Labels
On April 4, 2007, FDA issued a proposal
to revise the Agency's regulation for the
labeling of foods treated with irradiation.
The proposal deviates from current regulation
published April 18, 1986, in part by:
requiring labeling only for food in which
the irradiation causes a material change
(change in organoleptic, nutritional, or
functional properties) that is not readily
apparent to the consumer at the point of
purchase in the absence of appropriate labeling
requiring
explicit language on the label describing
the material change caused by irradiation
allowing use of alternate terms for irradiation,
such as "pasteurized" that would
be accompanied by explicit language describing
the change in the food or why it is used
e.g., "irradiated to inhibit sprouting"
The
proposal requires that the "radura"
logo be present on the label of affected
foods, as does the current regulation. Comments
on the proposed rule should be submitted
by May 4, 2007
Read
proposed rule.
Commentary:
As reported in Food Label News (April 2007),
an FDA spokesperson cited irradiation labeling
as a 2007 fiscal year priority for FDA's
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Service
Tip: Food Consulting Company offers
help with label statements and claims, including
use of MyPyramid on food labels. Annual
Regulatory Support provides periodic help
(multiple times) throughout the year for
one or more labels; One-time Regulatory
Support provides one-time help for one label.
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2007 Food Consulting Company
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