FDA to Discuss Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced a June 26, 2014,
public meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss two proposed rules aimed at
updating nutrition information and serving size requirements on Nutrition
and Supplement Fact labels. Introduced 20 years ago, the Nutrition and
Supplements Facts labels “help consumers make informed food choices and
maintain healthy dietary practices.”

Among others, the agency has proposed the following changes: (i) to require
information about “added sugars”; (ii) to update daily values for nutrients
such as sodium, dietary fiber and Vitamin D; (iii) to require manufacturers
to declare potassium and Vitamin D amounts on the label, because they
are new “nutrients of public health significance”; (iv) to change the serving
size requirements to reflect how much people “actually” eat; (v) to require
that packaged foods, including drinks, that are typically eaten in one sitting
be labeled as a single serving and that calorie and nutrient information
be declared for the entire package; and (vi) to make calories and serving
sizes more prominent to “emphasize parts of the label that are important
in addressing current public health concerns such as obesity, diabetes, and
cardiovascular disease.” FDA will accept comments on the rules until August 1,
2014. See CFSAN Constituent Update, May 28, 2014.

Issue 525