Shaking Up Food Labeling: From Potential New Daily Values to Front of Package Icons Sarah-Jane Bedwell, RD, LDN
1994
Retail: Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) • Requires what nutrients are listed on label, and how they are to be listed • Defines nutrients • Establishes reference amounts for determining serving sizes • Adopts standardized format • Requires nutrition labeling on most foods that contain more than insignificant amounts of nutrients • FSIS is not covered by NLEA
Nutrition Facts Panel: Changes Coming Why? • Greater Understanding of Nutrition Science • Updated Serving Size Requirements and New Labeling Requirements for Certain Package Sizes • Refreshed Design
Added Sugars
Percent Daily Values • Will move to the left of the label. • Updated Daily Values for: Sodium Dietary Fiber Vitamin D Calcium
Potassium and Vitamin D • Calcium and Iron • Vitamins A and C--optional
Calories from Fat • Type is more important than amount.
Changes to Serving Size • Reflect amounts actually eaten. • Single serving AND Package.
Dual Column Label
Refresh Design Proposed Label Current Label
Update: July 2015 • Supplemental Proposed Rule • Add % DV to Added Sugars • Change Footnote: – The percent daily value (%DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Commenting on Supplemental Proposal • Commenting on the supplemental proposed rule concerning added sugars and the label footnote began July 27, 2015. Due to technical difficulties with regulations.gov, the comment period reopened October 20, 2015 until October 23, 2015.
Expected Timeline: • Proposed rule published: March 3, 2014 • Comment period: March 3 – August 1, 2014 • FDA finalization: August 2014 – March 2016 • Final rule: ??? • Rule compliance: Two years after final rule.
Restaurant Menu Labeling WHAT IT IS: A new law that requires menus and menu boards to list the • number of calories for each standard menu item on the menu or menu board and have full nutrition information available upon request. WHY ITS HAPPENING: To ensure consumers have access to nutrition • information when dining at restaurants or similar retail food establishments WHO IT APPLIES TO: Restaurants or “similar retail food establishments” (a • retail establishment that serves restaurant type food) that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name (regardless of the type of ownership of the locations) and offering substantially the same menu items. WHEN THIS WILL HAPPEN: The compliance date is December 1, 2016 •
‘Healthy’ goes beyond trendy in Foodservice Portion sizes get smaller • Nutrient density becomes a focus • “No bad options” fast casual restaurant concepts • emerge Restaurant shift to protect brand image •
Front of Pack Labeling • Often stems from health claims. • Seals, icons, symbols.
Authorized Health Claims • Authorized Health Claims must be supported by significant scientific agreement among qualified experts that the claim is supported by the totality of publicly available scientific evidence for a substance/disease relationship • Examples of claims: Calcium & Osteoporosis, Folate & Neural Tube Defects, Dietary Saturated Fat & Risk of Coronary Heart Disease • Authorized Health Claims can be found in 21 CFR 101.70-101.83
Authorized Health Claims • There are very limited situations when USDA FSIS ( Food Safety and Inspection Service) allows FDA Health Claims on meat and poultry labels. FSIS allows an American Heart Assn. claim that bears FDA heart health language. Heart health language requires the inclusion of FDA model health language.
Heart-Check mark certification • History • Proven Credibility • Meets shoppers needs
7 Categories of Certification
Qualified Health Claims • Supported by scientific evidence but do not meet significant scientific agreement standard • Example: nuts & heart disease. A disclaimer needs to accompany the claim such as “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 oz. of most nuts per day as part of a diet low in saturated fat & cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease”
Structure Function Claims • Structure/Function Claims link a nutrient to a function in the body not a disease • Example: “Calcium builds strong bones” • Structure/Function Claims can characterize the means by which a nutrient or dietary ingredient acts to maintain such structure or function. • Example: “Antioxidants maintain cell integrity”
Nutrient Content Claims • Nutrient content claims describe the level of a nutrient or dietary substance in the product, using terms such as free , high , and low . • Or they compare the level of a nutrient in a food to that of another food, using terms such as more , reduced , and lite . • Most nutrient content claim regulations apply only to those nutrients or dietary substances that have an established daily value.
Front of Package Labeling • Interactive Label
Front of Package Labeling
Why front of pack labeling? • Label nutrition information is a key driver in the consumer decision- making process. • Consumers want information that’s easy to read and easy to find.* • Consumers want factual information. • Industry needs and wants to be part of the solution *FMI/IRI research, 2010
Based on Consumer Research • Methodology – Nationally-representative interactive online survey – Nearly 7,400 primary grocery shoppers – Tested three front-of-pack (FOP) systems against a control with no FOP nutrition information: – Calories only – Calories plus 3 nutrients to limit (saturated fat, sodium, total sugars) – Calories plus 3 nutrients to limit plus up to 3 nutrients to encourage (protein, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, fiber or folate)
Facts Up Front Advisory Panel
Key Findings • The FOP icons tested in this study generally enabled shoppers to demonstrate comprehension, express ease of understanding, and demonstrate interpretation of nutrition information on the products tested. • Nutrition information on FOP strengthened consumers ’ comprehension and comfort level. IFIC Foundation FOP Consumer Research, Perception Research Services International, August 2010 (supported by a grant from GMA)
Who Does FOP Labeling Help?
Easier to Understand
Even for More Complex Categories…
Conclusions Facts Up Front may help • consumers with the lowest level of education Consumers are capable of • making nutritionally informed choices Biggest challenge is to enable • and motivate consumers
Facts Up Front • Fact-based and science-based • Supported by consumer research • Compatible with U.S. regulatory framework for food labeling • Able to be applied widely to packaged foods and beverages marketed to consumers with a consistent visual appearance and package placement
Facts Up Front: Aligned with DGAs 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans key recommendations include: • Balancing calories to manage weight • Foods and food components to reduce • Foods and nutrients to increase • Building healthy eating patterns
Here’s How:
Aligned with Federal Guidelines • Facts Up Front does not require any legislative or agency rulemaking to implement, and it adheres to FDA and USDA-FSIS guidelines and regulations for nutrient content claims • Nutrients declared are either mandatory or voluntary
Facts Up Front: Basic Icons • The basic Facts Up Front label includes four icons – Nutrients to limit as identified by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans – Consistent with the order of appearance on Nutrition Facts Panel • Specific serving size – Same as Nutrition Facts Panel
Facts Up Front: Optional Icons • The Optional Icons consist of up to two additional plaques, representing specific additional nutrients required or permitted to be declared in nutrition labeling • These represent up to two “ Nutrients to Encourage” – Could be potassium, fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, iron – All are shortfall nutrients or are required to be on the Nutrition Facts Panel – Must contain 10% or more DV and be a “good source” to be featured
Facts Up Front in the Marketplace • Facts Up Front aims to provide consumers – especially busy parents – with the information they need to make informed decisions • The icon appears on many products on store shelves. Based on inventory and seasonality, the icon’s presence in the marketplace will continue to grow. • The program is supported with a robust consumer education program
Consumer Education Overview • Primary target: women ages 25-49 with children ages 2-17 • Secondary target: Hispanic and African American women • Components of consumer education campaign: – Paid advertising – In-store marketing – Public relations – Public health community and policymaker outreach
Framework
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