Volume
7, Number 10 - October 2006
IN THIS ISSUE:
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About Food Consulting Company
"You guys truly care. You deliver what
you promise, when you promise it. If someone
out there is still trying to decide, the
search is over."
~
Kawal Oberoi, President
Dishaka Gourmet Imports
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Greetings,
Following delivery of September's Food Label
News, Mary Brandt, Food Label News subscriber
and FDA official, let us know that FDA published
a correction to the final rule for the
Voluntary Nutrition Labeling of Raw Fruits,
Vegetables and Fish. Food Label News did not
announce the correction. Food labelers should be
aware that in Appendices C and D, which provide
the tables of nutrition labeling values, the
unit of measure for total carbohydrate was
corrected to show grams (and not mg). The
corrections are in the
August 17, 2006, Federal
Register. |
Q. If my
product does not contain significant amounts of
one or more of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium,
and Iron, can I report other vitamins/minerals
in this space? S.D., Food Labeler,
Nebraska
A. Yes,
labelers can voluntarily list other vitamins and
minerals that naturally occur in a food and for
which a Reference Daily Intake (RDI) or Daily
Reference Value (DRV) has been established,
regardless if the four required
vitamins/minerals (Vitamin A,
Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron), are or are not
listed in the table of nutrient values. See
Reader Q&A Page
for additional details.
Submit a question for
Reader Q&A. Selected questions will be
answered at no charge. For speedy answers to
regulatory questions, see
Services. |
Groundwork for Revised Nutrition Labels Values
Complete
On September 15, 2006, the Institute of Medicine
of the National Academies announced availability
of the reference volume, "Dietary Reference
Intakes: The Essential Reference for Dietary
Planning and Assessment." This 543-page book is
a summary report of eight exhaustive volumes of
dietary reference intakes (DRIs) that have been
issued since 1998. DRIs are quantitative
estimates of nutrient intakes to be used for
planning and assessing diets for healthy
individuals in the United States and Canada;
they were formerly known as Recommended Dietary
Allowances (RDAs).
The current % Daily Value (%DV) components of the
Nutrition Facts on food labels are reference
numbers that are based on the former
RDAs. FDA intends to consider revision of Daily
Values based on the DRIs but has not announced a
timeline for this.
See
Institute of Medicine
announcement.
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FDA's Food Labels Allergen Report Released
A copy of a report titled "Food Allergen
Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004
Public Law 108-282: Report to The Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions United
States Senate And The Committee on Energy and
Commerce United States House of Representatives"
is available in PDF format, currently at the
CFSAN "What's New" web
page or
directly.
The report is dated July 2006, and fulfills a
requirement in the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer
Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) that the
Secretary of Health and Human Services submit a
report to the Senate and House committees on
food allergen issues. The report addresses:
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Occurrence of cross-contact and use of
current good manufacturing processes (CGMP)
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Use of advisory labeling by food producers
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Consumer preferences for food allergen
labeling
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FDA's food allergen focused inspections
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Allergen recalls
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Current efforts to control cross-contact
Commentary: How to label products that
may have had cross-contact with food allergens
at some time during processing or packaging is
one of the most frequently asked questions to
Food Consulting Company. The report above does
not answer this but does shed light on consumer
preferences for this type of labeling. Labelers
with outstanding questions regarding the
labeling of possible cross-contamination can
request
regulatory support
or learn more with Food Consulting Company's
2006 Q&A page
or
summary article.
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More on Nutrition Labels for Restaurants
A September 26, 2006, news release from the New
York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene announces a proposal to require
restaurants that make calorie information for
standard menu items publicly available on or
after March 1, 2007, to post the information on
menus and menu boards, where consumers can see
it before ordering. The Health Department
estimates that the proposal would affect about
one in 10 restaurants. The Department is seeking
public comment.
Read
press release.
Commentary: Nutrition labeling of
restaurant foods is not required by FDA at this
time unless a nutrition claim is made about a
menu item. However many restaurants choose to
voluntarily provide nutrition information. Food
Consulting Company helps restaurants provide all
types of nutrition and allergen information to
meet customer demands, including
calories and fat per serving for individual
items and meal combinations.
For more information
For background on FDA and other activity related
to restaurant nutrition labeling see the
Food Label News archive,
January 2004, May 2004, May 2005, July 2005,
July 2006.
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Service Tip: Keep Your Products Fresh
Food Consulting Company offers a service
that can help assure your product is fresh for
product patrons. Order
Shelf Life Evaluation
and learn how long your product will stay fresh
on the shelf. Voluntary inclusion of a freshness
date on labels encourages retailers to rotate
products and lets consumers know when the time
is up for highest product quality.
Does your service
help food labelers? Would you like to see it
featured here?
Contact Us. |
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© Food Consulting Company, 2006
13724 Recuerdo Drive, Del Mar, CA 92014 USA
tel 800-793-2844 or 858-793-4658
fax 800-522-3545 or 858-712-3323
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