Nutrition Labeling Issues and Directions for the 1990s (1990) / Chapter Skim
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3. Current Food Labeling
3. Current Food Labeling
Pages 51-73
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From page 51... ...
To complicate the picture further, the authority to regulate food promotion practices that extend beyond the label, such as media advertising, lies with a third federal agency. Finally, many foods in grocery stores and supermarkets, and foods sewed in restaurants and institutional settings are sold without any nutrition information at all.
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From page 52... ...
Some, but not all, of these differences have importance for this study and for the implementation of the Committee's recommendations; these are discussed in greater detail below. For the purposes of the present discussion, it suffices to note that all three laws~the EMI Act, the PPI Act, and the FD&C Act—say virtually nothing about nutrition and provide little guidance as to the information about nutrient content that USDA or FDA may require on food labels.
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From page 53... ...
Because FDA does not approve food labels, its system allows issues of labeling policy to remain unresolved, sometimes for many years. A manufacturer of meat or poultry products can always discover USDA's position on a new labeling initiative—for example, the use of a new descriptor because it must seek approval, and the agency must provide a response.
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From page 54... ...
Thus, food "labeling" encompasses a broader range of communicative devices than the printed labels affixed to products. Current FDA and USDA nutrition information requirements, however, are chiefly directed at product labels, and it is these requirements on which this report focuses.
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From page 55... ...
. EVOLUTION OF NUTRITION LABELING FOR FOODS FDA Nutrition Labeling Requirements Labels on over half of all packaged foods sold in the United States currently provide some Me of nutrition information.
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From page 56... ...
was originally treated as guidance for courts that adjudicated FDA charges of misbranding, but since the 1960s the agency has, on occasion, invoked this provision and its general rulemaking power to prescribe affirmative disclosures on food labels. These provisions provided the authority on which FDA relied in adopting its current requirements for nutrient information on the labels of packaged foods (38 Few Reg.
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From page 57... ...
The report criticized FDA's approaches to food standards of identity, the marketing of substitute foods, and label statements relating to nutrition and long-term health. While the report stressed the importance of sound nutrition, it emphasized He need to help consumers make sound nutritional choices by requiring more information on food labels.
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From page 58... ...
These complementary views produced agreement on a label that focused on a food's contribution to the desired daily intake of vitamins, minerals, and protein. Thus, the prescribed nutrition information panel featured those nutrients, among others, and most of them were described in terms of the percentage of the U.S.
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From page 59... ...
First, the agency specified that nutrition information, when provided, was to appear on the information panel or principal display panel of the package (21 CF~ §101.2~. Another regulation had previously fixed the
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From page 60... ...
See Figure 3-1 for an example of a nutrition information panel based on current FDA regulations. FDA's original nutrition labeling regulations embodied several decisions that ensured that its system would not be comprehensive.
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From page 61... ...
USDA Nutrition Labeling Requirements Soon after FDA issued its final nutrition labeling regulations, USDA proposed a similar set of requirements for meat and poultry products (Mussman, 1974~. However, the department never completed this nllemaking.
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From page 62... ...
Rather, they reflect, on the one hand, the possible different outlooks and, on the other, the previously discussed important different modes of implementation. While FDA officials have frequently encouraged manufacturers to provide nutrition information even when it is not required, USDA has been chiefly concerned with ensuring the accuracy of whatever information appears on meat and poultry products.
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From page 63... ...
. Their criticisms of current food labels fall into several categories: Nutrition labeling should be mandatory; currently, it is not required on all packaged foods and is not used in conjunction with the sale of other important classes of foods.
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From page 64... ...
Deficiencies in Information About Nutrient Content There is considerable public health interest in several food components that are currently not required on the standard nutrition information panel, including cholesterol; saturated, monounsa~a~, and polyunsaturated fatty acids; complex carbohydrates; fiber; and potassium. Although current rules allow voluntary declaration of some of these food components, none of this information is now mandatory.
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From page 65... ...
is a required component of the nutrition information panel when it is used voluntarily or a claim is made on the label. However, sodium content can be declared on a food label without providing full nutrition information labeling (21 CPR §101.9(c)
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From page 66... ...
~14~. "Andfor" labeling allows the manufacturer the flexibility to switch among interchangeable ingredients without revising food labels, when price, availability, or both vary.
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From page 67... ...
RDA. Serving size A critical element of the nutrition information panel is the serving size of the food, for "serving" provides the reference unit for declaring nutrient content.
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From page 68... ...
Nutrition Label Format Although there seems to be widespread support for changing the content of nutrition labeling, opinions diverge on the best format for depicting nutrition information on food labels. Current research provides little guidance about the best nutrition label format for consumers.
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From page 69... ...
Numeric Displays The current label format presents nutrition information as numbers in columns. Many critics believe that the current format is confusing, complicated, and difficult for consumers to understand.
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From page 70... ...
Critics of such approaches note that vitamins and minerals cannot be presented in this manner since they make no caloric contribution to the food. The bar graph is another graphic option that }has been proposed to express nutritional values as a percentage of a daily intake standard.
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From page 71... ...
Most groups have requested formal definitions of descriptors for all nutrients that appear on Be nutrition information label. There is disagreement whether certain claims should be allowed only when a food meets over charactenstics (e.g., not allowing a n~cholestero1 claim when a food is high in saturated fat)
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From page 72... ...
1990. A Guide to Federal Food Labeling Requirements.
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From page 73... ...
1990. Food Labeling and Nutrition: What Americans Want.
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