Additional Resources |
Issues: Food Safety & SecurityFDA Final Rule on Nutrition Labeling to Publish July 25July 24, 2006 PMA has learned that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s final rule for voluntary nutrition labeling regulations for the 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits and 20 most frequently consumed vegetables will be published in the July 25 Federal Register. (Note: Due to an error in the original Federal Register notice, FDA issued a corrected final rule for voluntary nutrition labeling regulations on August 17. The corrected final rule is available here on PMA.com.) The final rule is effective on January 1, 2008, but voluntary compliance upon publication will be accepted by the Agency. Members can begin using the new values if they choose to as soon as the rule is published. In June 2005, FDA reopened the public comment period on a proposed rule published March 20, 2002, to give industry the opportunity to review changes to the nutrition labeling values and to comment on new data that became available after the close of the last comment period. FDA considered and incorporated some industry comments in its final rule; however, FDA did not agree with the request that an additional 12 months be granted to allow additional time for sampling products at different times of the year which would provide a more accurate reflection of the seasonal impact on nutrient content values. FDA does encourage the produce industry to continue to conduct research on nutrient values and to submit new data to FDA for consideration in future updates. The guidelines in FDA’s final rule contain additional revisions for one-half of all of the most frequently consumed fruits and vegetables, with an average of approximately two revised nutrients per revised food item (i.e. 38 nutrients / 20 whole food items). The final rule also contains a chart detailing these changes. The changes affect: apples, avocado, banana, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, kiwifruit, lemon, nectarine, orange, pear, pineapple, plums, strawberries, tangerine, broccoli, carrot, celery, cucumber, green onion, leaf lettuce, mushrooms, onion, radishes, and tomato. Based on the changes in nutrition information, some produce items may no longer qualify for the same nutrient content claims as have been made previously. PMA will be assessing the impact of these changes on nutrient content claims. The final rule also clarifies trans fat labeling requirements for the voluntary nutrition labeling of raw fruits and vegetables and fish. When nutrition information is provided for more than one raw fruit or vegetable, the listing of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol may be omitted if the following footnote is used: "Most fruits and vegetables provide negligible amounts of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol * * *." See new section 101.45(a)(3)(iii). The 20 most frequently consumed raw fruits are apple, avocado (California), banana, cantaloupe, grapefruit, grapes, honeydew melon, kiwifruit, lemon, lime, nectarine, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, plums, strawberries, sweet cherries, tangerine, and watermelon. The 20 most frequently consumed raw vegetables are asparagus, bell pepper, broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, green (snap) beans, green cabbage, green onion, iceberg lettuce, leaf lettuce, mushrooms, onion, potato, radishes, summer squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, and tomato. FDA did note that, due to acceptable compliance levels at store level, nutrition labeling for the top 20 fruits and top 20 vegetables will remain a voluntary program. Industry suppliers and retailers are encouraged to incorporate the new nutritional values into signage and packaging so they can comply with the final rule. To sign up for PMA Issue Alerts, you must be a PMA member. Alerts are available to any contact at a PMA member company by e-mailing the PMA Solution Center.
|
Issue Alerts News
Featured Product
|
