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Volume 13, Number 6 - June 2012

Hello from Food Label News. As the school year comes to a close, we’re 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!

In this issue you'll find:

 

"I would like to thank you for your prompt and detailed response of the projects that my company sent to you. We will definitely be utilizing the broad array of services that you provide in the near and distant future. Thanks for everything that you've done."

– Jeremy Hibbs, 
Byesville Aseptics LLC

Back-to-school on School Nutrition

Examples of Nutrition Facts Labels:
Part 9 of 10

Reader Q&A: Declaring Flavors

Food Label News: Reader Favorites

 

Karen C. Duester, President


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.

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.

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.

See a quick example of a bilingual label in English and Spanish.


What matters in food labeling

Food Label News, now in its 12th year, is a monthly e-newsletter reaching nearly 7,000 subscribers around the world. This publication covers news and insights about food labels for manufacturers, distributors, product developers, suppliers, QA professionals, government officials, and academia. We welcome your colleagues to subscribe: www.foodlabels.com/subscribe

Reader Favorites:  Using 4-4-9 for Calorie Calculations


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 connected. We invite you to join the Food Label Community on LinkedIn to build your network. For more information about Food Consulting Company, visit www.foodlabels.com.

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