Honey Bears, Snowmen and Other Exceptions to Food Labels : Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 2)

Another (g) request under FDA consideration involves 1-liter (1 quart) glass jars of strawberry jam in the shapes of Santa Claus and a snowman. Because of the containers' roundness and indentations, Wilkening said, FDA may exempt both products from nutrition labeling as long as their labels carry a telephone number or address for consumers to call or write to get the required nutrition information.

"What they've asked is for their product to be considered a small package," Wilkening said, citing a provision that allows packages with less than 12 square inches available for nutrition labeling to provide an address or telephone number for consumers to get the required information.

Wilkening said the agency probably will OK the request because the product is available only for short periods — around Christmas — and because it is sold next to other jams that will have the nutrition information. "Even though it may be on another container, consumers would have access to the same type of nutrition information," she said.

Determining Exemptions

Not all foods will have to carry nutrition information. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act exempts food sold for immediate consumption and food produced by small businesses if the food packages don't carry a nutrition claim. Also exempt are foods that contain insignificant amounts of all the nutrients that are required in nutrition labeling — as long as the product's label doesn't carry nutrition claims. A food contains insignificant amounts of the dietary components required in nutrition labeling if a serving of the food contains:

• less than 2 percent of the Daily Value for vitamins and minerals
• less than 1 gram (g) of carbohydrate, dietary fiber, and protein
• less than 2 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol
• less than 5 mg of sodium
• less than 0.5 g of fat, saturated fat, and sugars
• fewer than 5 calories.

The food labeling regulations specifically exempt plain coffee and tea, flavor extracts, food colors, and other foods that are not significant sources of nutrients.

Most spices are not significant sources of nutrients, either — except for a few. For example, paprika and chili powder contain vitamin A and therefore will have to have nutrition labeling.

In many cases, foods with few nutrients will qualify for the simplified nutrition label format, in which information about some nutrients otherwise required in nutrition labeling may be omitted. The simplified format is allowed when the food contains insignificant amounts of seven or more of the dietary components required in nutrition labeling. However, information about calories, total fat, sodium, carbohydrate, and protein is still required.

Nutrient Analysis

And how are these nutrient levels determined? That, too, is addressed in the regulations. As before, manufacturers will continue to be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the nutrient content information on the label.

They can use any means they desire to determine a food's nutritional makeup. Typically, nutrients are analyzed in the laboratory using one or more chemical tests. In checking the validity of nutrient information on the label, FDA uses only tests approved by AOAC International, an association of official analytical chemists, and other procedures FDA accepts as valid. Manufacturers are encouraged to use these procedures, too. FDA does not endorse any set of nutrient data for use in nutrition labeling. However, in the January 1993 Federal Register document, FDA expressed interest in working with the food industry to develop databases for nutrition labeling purposes. It also announced the availability of the FDA Nutrition Labeling Manual: A Guide for Developing and Using Databases to help companies and trade organizations develop and use a database for nutrition labeling.

Checking Compliance

FDA checks the accuracy of nutrition labeling information by conducting its own nutritional analyses and applying several guidelines for determining the accuracy of the nutrition information.

For nutrients that are considered desirable — that is, vitamins, minerals, protein, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, other carbohydrate, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, and potassium — and that are present naturally in the food, the FDA- determined analytical value must be at least 80 percent of the value declared on the label.

For naturally occurring dietary components for which lower intakes are sometimes advised — that is, calories, sugars, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium — FDA's analytical values must be no more than 20 percent higher than the label values. For nutrients added to a food, FDA's determined values must be at least equal to the values stated on the label.

Enforcement

Before initiating enforcement action, the agency will consider factors such as the seriousness of the violation, information obtained during an establishment inspection, consumer complaints, and the firm's compliance history.

According to Elizabeth Campbell, director of the division of programs and enforcement policy in FDA's Office of Food Labeling, a warning letter to the company often puts an end to many violative practices. "Usually that's enough," she said. "We don't need seizures and prosecutions if we get a complying label." FDA won't be the only agency checking food labeling compliance. Under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, state governments may now enforce federal food labeling laws. The act for the first time prohibits states from enforcing their own labeling requirements on food in interstate commerce, unless those requirements are the same as FDA's. Thus, a state can adopt provisions identical to FDA's and enforce those regulations either at the state or federal level.

However, state involvement means that FDA will have to inform each state of any additional changes, exemptions and exceptions it makes to the nutrition labeling regulations and policies. Such changes would include decisions about the honey bear, snowman and Santa.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.