Volume 17, Number
3 -
March 2017
Hello from Food Label News!
This month we focus on Canada's Food Labelling
Modernization, which brings changes to nutrition facts
and ingredient statements. Meanwhile companies who sell
foods in the U.S. are busy preparing for the nutrition
labeling compliance date that looms less than 16 months
away (on July 26, 2018, for most companies). Check out
the
Food Label Community for lively discussions about
the complexities of implementation and the nitty-gritty
aspects of regulatory compliance.
In this issue you'll find:
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"Love
your newsletter! I really
appreciated all the
regulatory
roundup links in this particular
issue. Keep up the good work!"
–
Richard Young
JTM Food Group
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Karen C. Duester, President
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Canada's Food Labelling Modernization
"Making the healthier choice the easier
choice" for consumers is the goal for Health
Canada's Healthy Eating Strategy. An
important part of this strategy is a revision
to Canada's Food Guide, launched last fall,
which aims to reduce sodium in processed
foods, eliminate industrial trans fats,
provide consumers more information about
sugars and food colours, and restrict
marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages
to children.
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Health Canada's comprehensive strategy
includes a three-part approach: food safety,
food labelling, and front-of-pack messaging. |
Finalized changes to the Nutrition Facts
Table and Ingredient Statement, released on
December 14, 2016, will help make food
labels easier to understand. Highlights
include: |
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Addition of a % Daily Value for Total Sugars
in the Nutrition Facts Table and the
grouping of all sugar-based ingredients
under the name "Sugars" in the Ingredient
Statement. This grouping requirement
elevates Sugars in the list of ingredients,
making high sugar foods more obvious to
consumers. Of interest, Health Canada did
not adopt the U.S. requirement to declare
Added Sugars within the Nutrition Facts
Table.
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All food colours must be declared by their
common name rather than the generic term "colour"
within the list of ingredients.
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Format of the Ingredient Statement and
Allergen Information will more closely
parallel the format requirements for the
Nutrition Facts Table, including use of
black type on a white background, bullets to
separate ingredients replacing commas, and a
box surrounding the entire Ingredient
Statement to separate it as a distinct
component of the label.
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Declaration of Vitamin D and Potassium
within the Nutrition Facts Table.
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Addition of a footnote at the bottom of the
Nutrition Facts Table that states "5% or
less is a little…" and "15% or more is a
lot…" to help consumers better interpret %
Daily Value.
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Changes to some serving sizes to make
comparing similar food products easier.
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We can expect the third part of Health
Canada's comprehensive strategy,
front-of-pack messaging, to be released soon.
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Health Canada's approach is to
integrate these and other food label changes
into a single 2021 compliance date to
streamline the process for the food
industry. Managing all the pieces and parts
of an implementation strategy for such a
widespread change is no doubt challenging;
knowing the totality of the regulations
during the planning process is an enormous
benefit.
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What's News in the Food Label Community
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Reader Q&A
Find answers to our readers' questions or send us your question for an upcoming issue.
Q.
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Two of my frozen bread formulas
include baking powder although
my ingredient list does not
include the sub-components of
the baking powder (sodium
bicarbonate, potassium tartrate,
cornstarch). Do the
sub-ingredients need to be
included within the ingredient
statement in the U.S.?
− D.J., Oregon, Food
Manufacturer
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A.
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Yes, the sub-ingredients for
baking powder must be included
within the ingredient statement
of foods sold in the U.S.
Specifically, 21 CFR 101.4
requires that all ingredients be
listed in descending order of
predominance in the ingredient
statement. You may include the
sub-ingredients parenthetically
after baking powder, or as
separate ingredients by weight
within the finished product
ingredient statement.
Interestingly, Canada does not
require the inclusion of
sub-ingredient components for
baking powder. See a previous
one-pager on this topic.
More Reader Q&As.
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What Matters in Food Labeling
Food Label News, now in its 17th year, is a monthly e-newsletter reaching over 10,000 subscribers around the world. We welcome your colleagues to subscribe for news and insights about food labels: www.foodlabels.com/subscribe
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