Volume 12, Number 5 - May
2011
Greetings from Food Label News.
Spring abounds. It’s a fresh season of news including the
beginning stages of rulemaking for restaurateurs and
vending machine operators. This month you will also read a
practical case study about how a restaurant chain keeps its
nutrition information current and compliant. If you’d like
your company to be showcased in this case study program,
please review the
criteria. As always, we welcome your
comments and discussion in the
Food
Label Community on
LinkedIn. Enjoy. |
In this issue
you'll find:
Karen C. Duester,
President |
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"Everything was perfect, and your group
is a dream to work with."
– Joe Petrella,
Famiglia-DeBartolo Famous Famiglia Pizza
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Restaurants and Vending Machines to Serve Up New Nutrition
Information
Over the past several years
the proliferation of state and local regulations has
resulted in many inconsistencies that have been challenging
for restaurateurs and consumers alike. This inconsistency
together with health care reform has led FDA to release two
proposed rules on April 6, 2011, to standardize the way
restaurants and vending machines provide nutrition
information in the U.S.
The
proposed rule for restaurants and similar food
establishments will require restaurants and food service
facilities with 20+ locations (same name regardless of
ownership) to disclose calories and nutrition information.
The
proposed rule for vending machines will require the
operators to provide calorie information in close proximity
to the selection button for each food item.
FDA seeks comments on specific
topics outlined in the proposed rules. Interested
stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments for the
proposed rule affecting restaurants by June 6, 2011.
Comments for the proposed rule affecting vending machines
are due by July 5, 2011.
After this comment period, FDA
will finalize rules and provide a timeline for required
industry compliance. According to the Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act (health care reform), compliance will be
required within six months after publication of final rules.
More.
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Keeping You Current
2nd Genesis Training scheduled with IFT:
registration now open
FDA Releases
Strategic Priorities 2011-2015
Front-of-Pack labeling discussed at industry
meeting
"Hidden" Allergens & Canada's New
Regulations
(requires LinkedIn account)
Join
Food Label Community
for a discussion of the news
From the Archive
Health Care Reform Puts the Spotlight on Restaurant Menus
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Restaurateurs and
vending machine operators who are not subject to the
requirements of the act (have fewer than 20 locations) are
offered voluntary participation through an FDA registration
process. We expect most small establishments and operators
to comply with FDA rules. As nutrition information becomes
more commonplace in all purchasing venues, it is a smart
business choice to provide it for consumers. |
Ever-changing Menus Stay Current &
Compliant: A Case Study
An established chain
of casual bakery cafes with 60 locations across the
country needed to ensure that their menus and
product packaging were compliant with new FDA food
labeling regulations for restaurants and food
service. The goal was to ensure that frequently
changing menus and new products were 100% compliant,
despite unique state-by-state regulations that
required special considerations.
Staying abreast of an
ever-changing menu takes continual care and
attention to detail. Learn about the challenges this
chain of food service cafes faced and their approach
to making a complicated process easy in this
case study.
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Q. |
For our Frozen Italian Dessert, can we refer to this
collection of ingredients as "chocolate coating": sugar,
palm oil, cocoa powder and soy lecithin?
− M.M., California, Established Food Company |
A. |
No. You would need to
identify the above ingredients as "chocolate flavored
coating" since the standard of identity for sweet
chocolate (21CFR163.123) is not met. The key difference
in your ingredients and those of standardized chocolate
is the use of palm oil instead of cocoa butter.
Read
more. |
At Your Service
Food
Consulting Company,
founded in 1993, provides nutrition analysis, food labeling
and regulatory support to ensure 100% compliance with FDA
regulations. With well over 1,000 clients worldwide, we’re
pleased to provide
information to address your
food labeling needs.
We value our relationships and
are working to stay connected. To build your network, we
invite you to connect with us via
LinkedIn and while you’re
there, join the
Food Label Community.
You may reprint all or part of this newsletter,
provided you attribute it to Food Label News
and include a link to
www.foodlabels.com.
©
2011. Food Consulting Company, Del Mar, CA. All rights reserved.
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