*This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 1992.00.00 : Sweeping Changes in Food Labels Contacts: Betsy Adams (301) 443-4177 (Home) (301) 867-0679 Food and Safety Inspection Service, David Schmidt (202) 720-7943 1992 Press Release (No Date) HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., and USDA Deputy Secretary Ann Veneman today announced proposals for sweeping changes in food labels -- changes they said will enable consumers to select a healthier diet by providing accurate and reliable information about the nutritional content of the food they eat. The most extensive label reform ever proposed, it would affect virtually all foods. The changes are expected to be fully implemented in 1993. The proposals cover most of the broad changes required by the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, a process that is expected to be completed in 1993. While meat and poultry products were exempted by the NLEA, USDA Secretary Edward Madigan directed USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service to issue nutrition labeling proposals for meat and poultry in harmony with other foods. The most important proposed new rules in today's announcement include: * Mandatory nutrition labeling for most processed foods, including consistent serving sizes in easily understandable measurements for most food categories * Definitions for the terms "free," "reduced,", "light," "less," "lean," "low," "high," "fresh" and "source of nutrient" * Conditions for statement of health claims on foods that contain nutrients that have a scientifically documented relationship with the risk of a disease. In addition, today's announcement covers the implementation of a voluntary nutrition labeling program for raw fruits, vegetables, and fish, as well as raw, single ingredient meat and poultry. "We must restore the credibility of the food label," said Dr. Sullivan. "Our goal is to make the information on the label clear and useful, so that American consumers can make informed choices to improve their health and well being." "As a congressman, Secretary Madigan was proud to cosponsor the NLEA," Ms. Veneman said. "Together, our two agencies have now laid the groundwork for one set of sensible nutrition labeling policies that take the guesswork out of planning healthy diets." The Food and Drug Administration, a Public Health Service agency within HHS, regulates all foods except for meat and poultry products, which are regulated by USDA. HHS' actions are part of a larger effort to carry out the NLEA passed by Congress in 1990, as well as in furtherance of an initiative by the Food and Drug Administration which, at Dr. Sullivan's request, had already undertaken a comprehensive review of food labels. USDA's proposal defines 23 meat and poultry product categories for nutrition labeling purposes. Veneman said that this proposal is generally consistent with the FDA proposals for other foods. An exception: the terms "lean" and "extra lean" are proposed for meat and poultry products that meet strict limits on fat, saturated fat and cholesterol; these terms would not be used with other foods. Today's proposals would, among other things -- * Mandate listing of information about a food's nutrient content on most labels. While many processed foods have included nutrition labeling for many years, it has never been required across the board. In addition, the list of required nutrients would be changed to emphasize nutrients that have a more significant impact on the health of today's consumers, such as cholesterol, fat and dietary fiber. The terms for some nutrients would also be simplified. For example, "saturated fat" would be used rather than "saturated fatty acids." * Provide for nutrition information to be presented as quantitative amounts -- for example, 4 grams of fat -- or as percentages of certain dietary reference values. This would give consumers a better basis for comparing nutrient contents of various foods. * Address fat, fatty acid and cholesterol content claims. If a food is promoted as "cholesterol-free," "low cholesterol" or "x-percent fat-free," consumers may assume that it promotes good health or that it is different from competitive brands, when in fact this may not currently be the case. The proposed regulations would prevent these terms from being used in a misleading manner. * Permit health claims for nutrients only if there is a valid relationship between the nutrient and the disease in question. The relationships between calcium and osteoporosis, sodium and hypertension, fat and cardiovascular disease, and fat and cancer are the only ones of those considered which are currently supported by sufficient data and are proposed to be allowed on the label. Two more claims -- for fiber and heart disease, and fiber and cancer -- will continue to be studied. FDA is reserving judgment on these claims until it gets enough additional information on which to base a final decision. Also at a later date, USDA plans to propose labeling requirements for health claims consistent with FDA's. FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D., said, "In developing the proposals, we've reached out to consumer, health and industry groups. Our job is to make sure that the information presented on the food label is balanced, that it tells the whole story." In addition, FDA and USDA are analyzing the potential benefits and costs of the entire label reform initiative, including its impact on small businesses. Although early estimates have placed the cost to food manufacturers at approximately $2 billion over 20 years, benefits of reduced medical costs and increased productivity from a healthier diet should be many times that much. Under the NLEA, final regulations must be completed by Nov. 8, *This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated. 1992. Food manufacturers would then have until May 8, 1993, to begin providing products with the new labels. ###