In brief 2 min read
We report on the new FDA guidelines regarding nutrition information labels for packaged foods sold in the USA.
The new requirements
The new guidelines will apply to packaged foods imported into the United States and will come into force on 26 July 2016. Generally, the requirements regarding the overall look of the nutrition information panel have not been altered, yet there have been some changes to the format and content of the panel. The key changes to be aware of are below.
The background
Added sugars will now need to be included on the nutrition label, both in grams and as a percentage of the daily value.
- The serving size listed on the label will now be required to be based on the amount of food or beverage that people actually consume, as opposed to what they should be eating. Additionally, packages that are between one to two servings will be required to be labeled as one serving as people are likely to consume the item in one sitting.
- Companies will no longer need to declare the 'daily value' percentage of vitamin A and C, but instead will need to declare the percentage of vitamin D and potassium, as well as calcium and iron. They are also able to voluntarily declare the gram amount of any other vitamins or minerals.
- The font size of the total calorie count, servings per packet and serving size declarations have been increased.
- The daily value percentages listed on the nutrition label for constituents such as sodium, dietary fibre and vitamin D are now to be based on the new 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- 'Dual column' labels have been introduced for certain products that are larger than a single serve, yet could be consumed in one or multiple sittings. For these products, companies will need to provide two columns on the nutrition label to indicate the amount of calories and nutrients on both a 'per serving' and 'per package' basis.
Compliance dates
The final requirements of the new guidelines will come into force on 26 July 2016. Companies selling food in the US market will have until 26 July 2018 to comply with the guidelines, yet companies with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have until 26 July 2019 to comply.