Volume 13, Number
6 - June
2012
Hello from Food
Label News.
As the school year comes to a close, were already heading
back-to-school for an overview of changes to the
requirements for Child Nutrition labeling. In addition, the
close-up on Nutrition Facts Labels continues with an example
of a bilingual label in English and Spanish. Happy Summer!
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Back-to-school on School Nutrition
Busy parents
rely on school breakfasts and lunches to keep their children
healthy. In January 2012, the USDA Food and Nutrition
Service released new
regulations for Child
Nutrition (CN) Programs to align meal patterns and nutrition standards with
the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, as well as USDA's
MyPlate food guidance system and the related SuperTracker.
Recently, a
policy memo on grain requirements provided
direction for CN labeling for grain-based products. These
requirements are to be phased in over the next two years.
The policy memo details prescribed levels of foods
that meet the new "whole grain-rich" criteria.
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Foods that qualify as whole grain-rich are foods that
contain: 1) 100% whole grain, or 2) a blend of whole grain
meal/flour and enriched meal/flour where at least
50% of the blend is whole grain. |
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The nomenclature is changing from "grain/bread servings"
to "ounce equivalent grain" (abbreviated
as oz eq grain). |
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Creditable grain is now to be calculated on the
basis of 16 grams of grain ingredients per ounce
equivalent; previously it was 14.75 grams,
effectively lowering the grain values. |
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Now there is both a weekly minimum and maximum for the
grain requirements; previously there was only a
minimum. |
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Reader Q&A
Q. |
If a single flavor compound is added
to a product for flavor, do you
list it as flavor or by its common name
in the ingredient statement?
− W.S., Illinois,
Food
Manufacturer |
A. |
The ingredient
statement of the food to which the
flavor is added may declare the flavor
as "natural flavor" or
"artificial flavor" as long as the
flavor additive meets the applicable
definition in 21CFR101.22.
Read more. |
See
Reader Q&A archive
for an additional 50+ questions.
Send us
your question
for an upcoming issue.
What's new
in the
Food Label Community on
Nutrient content claims
Declaring colors
Biotech labeling
Join
Food Label Community to stay informed.
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The new requirements that establish a maximum on oz eq
grains also provide a ceiling for calories that help
address the growing problem of obesity in children. See a
quick two-page summary
of the Breakfast Meal Patterns,
Lunch Meal Patterns, and Other Specifications for CN
Labeling. |
Examples of Nutrition Facts
Labels:
Part 9 of 10
Requirements for Nutrition Facts in the U.S. are
very specific. Use of bilingual labels (English and
another language) is voluntary. If, however, any
foreign language is used anywhere on the label then
all required label components including the
Nutrition Facts panel must be present in both
languages.
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What matters in food labeling
Food Label News,
now in its 12th year, is a monthly e-newsletter reaching
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covers news and insights about food labels for
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Reader Favorites:
Using 4-4-9 for Calorie Calculations
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At your service
Food Consulting Company,
founded in 1993, provide nutrition analysis, food labeling,
and regulatory support to ensure 100% compliance with FDA
regulations. We value the relationships we've developed with
our 1,500+ clients worldwide and are working to stay
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© 2012. Food Consulting Company, Del Mar, CA. All rights reserved.
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