The food, food safety, and nutrition regulatory landscape is busy as always as we move ahead in...
The food, food safety, and nutrition regulatory landscape is busy as always as we move ahead in spring 2024. Food labeling regulatory and policy actions at federal agencies and states and the industry issues that relate compete with food safety on the agencies’ agendas. However, these actions have direct impact on your businesses in terms of compliance, innovation, and marketing.
On the top of the list are FDA’s efforts to define the claim “healthy”. FDA has proposed criteria for the amounts of food groups and limits on food constituents, like sodium, added sugars, and fat, in foods to be eligible to label foods and beverages as “healthy”. Analytical data will be required to support the claim, which FDA believes should enable a “healthy symbol” on labeling if the food or beverage meets the criteria, as FDA explains in its announcement. FDA is expected to finalize the definition later this spring 2024.
Another regulatory action by FDA is establishing a front-of-package nutrition labeling system. This scheme would link to the Nutrition Facts Label, giving consumers a uniform approach to highlighting positive and negative nutrients in a way that helps consumers consistently compare foods and beverages at point of purchase. FDA is testing concepts with consumers to determine which scheme works best. As will all nutrient declarations, analytical data will be required to support use of any system FDA proposes. The agency has enlisted the Reagan-Udall Foundation to collect and present such approaches to the public. The Foundation, which supports FDA research, presented the latest findings last November, which FDA is considering for a proposed rule this summer 2024.
Still another regulatory action related to labeling is FDA’s guidance that established sodium reduction targets. FDA released these targets, which can be seen in the October 2021 published policy, and is monitoring the marketplace for manufacturers’ progress in lowering sodium. It is anticipated that if there are no significant reductions, FDA will propose regulations to set criteria for sodium in various foods. Thus, in the effort to promote sodium reduction and related labeling claims, FDA expects its proposed rule to allow salt substitutes in foods with standards of identity to be finalized in later summer 2024.
Manufacturers are advised to always monitor the regulatory landscape for actions and issues like these so they can effectively compete in the marketplace and comply with the rules. Taking the Deibel Laboratories-FoodTrition Solutions course on Labeling for Foods and Beverages Marketing in the US, is a great way to keep informed.
