NOVEMBER
2003
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...INTOUCH... Volume 4/Number 11 - November
7, 2003
Monthly Updates on Government Action Affecting Food
Labels
Brought to you by: Food Consulting Company
Your source for food label help at
www.foodlabels.com
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Greetings!
This month marks the beginning of our 11th year
serving the
food industry with food labeling services and our 4th
year of
bringing food manufacturers and importers the latest
on gov-
ernment action affecting food labels. We enjoy
serving you!
Please note our NEW toll-free fax number:
800-522-3545.
Are you ready to add trans fatty acid values to your
nutrition
facts panels? We are ready to help. Place online
orders or
print order forms at our website,
http://www.foodlabels.com
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More on FDA Regulations and Carb Claims on Food Labels
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In a phone conversation with Food Consulting Company
president, Karen Duester, an FDA spokesperson
explained
that FDA currently has no plans to establish
definitions that
would allow nutrient content claims for carbohydrate
on food
labels.
The existing labeling regulations specifically
disallow carbo-
hydrate claims using the following terms: Free, Zero,
No,
Without, Trivial Source of, Negligible Source of,
Dietarily
Insignificant Source of, Low, Little, Few, Contains a
Small
Amount of, Low Source of, Reduced/Less, Lower, Fewer,
and any synonyms of these words.
As evidenced by many calls to Food Consulting Company
in the past 90 days, food companies are eager to
develop
new products to meet an apparent demand by low-carb
dieters, and to use label claims that describe the
carbohy-
drate content of their products. Through phone
calls, trade
publications, and grocery tours, Food Consulting
Company
has observed that companies are "creatively" using
terms
like carb-fit, carb-smart, carb-right, carb-safe, for
low-carb
dieters, and others in efforts to communicate the
carbohy-
drate content of their foods.
For more information on carbohydrate claims, see
October
2003 INTOUCH at
http://www.foodlabels.com/newsletter.htm
...INTOUCH... Comments: We can help you evaluate the
"creative" terms you plan to use to communicate the
carbohydrate content of your products. Order this
service
at our website (http://www.foodlabels.com)
with Regulatory
Question, or as part of a Full Label Review or as part
of a
Full Label Compliance package.
We can also work with you to modify your formulas to
meet
your desired nutrient targets. Call us (800-793-2844)
or
email us (info@foodlabels.com)
to discuss your needs.
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FDA Meetings Explore Food Labels Link to Obesity
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Food Labeling is one of six areas being studied by the
FDA
Obesity Working Group (OWG) that was established in
August, 2003, by FDA Commissioner David McClellan.
The group held its first public meeting on October 23,
2003,
in Bethesda, MD. Regarding the food labels and
obesity
connection, FDA is questioning if changes in food
labeling
regulations could result in the development of
healthier, lower
calorie foods by industry and the selection of
healthier, lower
calorie foods by consumers. The other areas under
study by
OWG are: education, research, therapeutic treatment,
product research and development, and opportunities
for
FDA to make a difference in overcoming obesity.
A second OWG meeting, taking place Thursday, November
20, 2003, will examine available data to identify
options for
making food labels and packaging more relevant to con-
sumers' weight management decisions. Stakeholders and
experts will present data and analysis regarding the
relation-
ship between food labeling and weight management.
FDA is accepting public comments on obesity issues
until
November 21, 2003.
To read more about OWG activity and submit comments,
see:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ReportsResearch/ucm081114.htm
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FDA Explores Nutrition Labels on Restaurant Menu Items
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Through news reports on the FDA Obesity Working Group
meeting, Food Consulting Company has learned that FDA
is exploring a requirement for the posting of the
nutritional
content of foods offered in restaurants. The reports
indicate that the National Restaurant Association is
open
to discussing the issue with FDA but is generally
opposed
to mandatory nutrition labeling.
...INTOUCH... Comments: Food Consulting Company
has provided nutritional analysis services for
restaurant
websites, brochures, and posters since the company's
start in 1993. You can confidently refer your
restaurant
partners to our company for nutritional analysis
services.
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FYI: The sales and distribution of dietary
supplements
by five corporations was suspended September 20,
2003, following a decision in the U.S. District Court
for
the Northern District of Georgia. Leading to this
decision, FDA had exercised the agency's authority to
take action to protect American consumers from
dietary supplements that are not accurately labeled or
that make false and misleading claims unsupported by
scientific evidence. One of the provisions of the
court
action is that sales and distribution cannot be
resumed
until FDA reviews all revised product labeling, promo-
tional literature, and detailed inspection reports
from
the defendants' consulting firm.
Read FDA news release:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2003/NEW00953.html
© Food Consulting Company, 2003. |