The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published five new guidance documents to assist manufacturers with new nutrition labeling regulations.
The guidance covers a range of topics including added sugars, dietary fiber, serving sizes and more.
A few notes for industry:
- Updates in this new guidance are most relevant for packaged foods (particularly those with added sugars and fiber).
- No changes have been made to reference amounts that were included in the 2016 final rule; however, clarity was added to include examples of foods within the categories. Almonds were specifically named in the following categories:
- Milk, milk-substitute beverages, milk-based drinks, e.g., instant breakfast, meal replacement, cocoa, soy beverage (e.g. almond milk).
- Nut and seed butters, pastes or creams (e.g. almond butter).
- Coconut, nut and seed flours (e.g. almond flour).
- Seasoning oils and seasoning sauces (e.g. almond oil) — note: almonds had already been specifically named in this category when the 2016 final rule was published.
A statement by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb accompanied the new guidance. In the statement, he previews other nutrition initiatives FDA is planning to progress in the near future. These include a nutrition labeling education campaign, a final rule solidifying a new labeling compliance date and additional details around the “nutrition strategy” referenced in FDA’s 2018 Strategic Policy Roadmap, published in January.
These actions further demonstrate FDA’s commitment to advance nutrition policy initiatives under the current Administration.
More information can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/Food/NewsEvents/ConstituentUpdates/ucm595586.htm
