Del Mar, CA (March 1, 2004) -- Food Consulting
Company, specializing in the preparation of
regulation-compliant food label components for the
food industry, cautions manufacturers to study food
labeling regulations of the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) before choosing “carb” phrases
for food labels. Label wording that might seem
logical to communicate carbohydrate content to
consumers might not be allowed by the FDA.
“The simplest, most direct phrase, "low carb" for
example is not allowed on food labels,” explained
Karen Duester, president of Food Consulting Company.
FDA regulations for nutrient content claims
(21CFR101.13) permit labels to describe the level of
certain nutrients in a product using the term low,
but FDA has not established values for carbohydrate
in relation to claims; therefore, the term "low”
cannot be used in association with the term
carbohydrate or “carb” on food labels.
Referring to the FDA regulations, Duester said the
terms Free, Zero, No, Without, Trivial Source of,
Negligible Source of, Dietarily Insignificant Source
of, Low, Little, Few, Contains a Small Amount of,
Low Source of, Reduced, Less, Lower, Fewer, and any
synonyms of these words are disallowed to describe
carbohydrate content on food labels. However food
labelers may make an accurate quantitative statement
of fact (e.g., 5g carbohydrate per serving), as long
as the statement does not characterize the amount of
carbohydrate present. A statement such as "only 5g
carbs" for example, is not allowed since the word
“only” characterizes the level of carbohydrate as
low.
Duester further explained that FDA regulations do
not disallow the terms “net carbs”, “net impact
carbs” or “net effective carbs” to describe
carbohydrate content on food labels. These terms are
being used by the food industry to reflect the
amount of carbohydrate a product contains that will
impact blood glucose levels. The value is derived
from the formula, net carbs = total carbohydrates –
dietary fiber – sugar alcohols.
Food labelers can receive fast and accurate
carbohydrate labeling help from Food Consulting
Company, or they can refer to FDA’s Food Labeling
Guide, available at
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/flg-toc.html;
a summary of allowed nutrient content claims can be
found in appendix A.
Food Consulting Company, based in Del Mar, CA, is
the largest out-source provider assisting food
companies in meeting FDA and USDA labeling
requirements. The company offers a full range of
food labeling services including product analysis
(both database and laboratory), nutrition facts
panels, ingredient statements, full label compliance
packages, shelf life evaluations, final label
reviews, and INTOUCH, a free monthly email
newsletter that keeps food companies informed on
government action affecting food labels. Duester can
be reached through the company web site at
http://www.foodlabels.com,
or by calling 800-793-2844.
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© Food
Consulting Company, 2004.
