Food Label News - January 2014

Volume 14, Number 1 - January 2014

Happy New Year from Food Label News! As 2014 kicks off, we offer a toast to our clients, readers and fellow food labelers in the Food Label Community on LinkedIn. Here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous year ahead.

We start the year by featuring one of the most popular sections of Food Label News - Q&As. In addition, the Package Claims series continues with a discussion on U.S. health claims.

Wishing you all the best in this new year!

In this issue you'll find:

"I want to thank you for the service you provided. The report is detailed and answered all my questions. My graphic artist will have no problem following the instructions and you certainly made his life easier! The work was done in the time frame promised and we will definitely recommend your services."

– Alfred Nasti
MIT Commodities

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2013's Most Popular Reader Q&As

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Package Claims: U.S & Canada - Part 3 of 8
Health Claims for U.S.

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Reader Q&A: Options for Signature Line

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What's News in the Food Label Community

Karen C. Duester, President

2013's Most Popular Reader Q&As

Congratulations and thank you to the three Food Label News subscribers for submitting questions that ranked the highest among our readers. Here are the 2013 winners and links to answers:

•	N.C., Ontario - June's Food Label News I need to know what is the allowable weight tolerance for a pre-packaged food product. For example, if we are declaring a net weight of 5 oz. can we sell products with a weight lower than 5.0 oz. in the U.S.? What are the FDA regulations on net weight tolerance?
•	D.O., Tennessee - August's Food Label News We have developed a line of Sauces, two of which have honey in the ingredients. We want to have a Vegan call-out on our label. As I researched this online, it appears that many in the Vegan community do not consider honey to be Vegan. Can we legally make a Vegan claim if the product has honey?
•	R.L., California - November's Food Label News We are using a tiny amount of tricalcium phosphate (~0.2%) in the production of one of our sugar products that we sell retail. The purpose of this ingredient is to aid in process flow. Do we need to list tricalcium phosphate on the finished product label?

For answers to these and other Food Label News reader questions, see the Reader Q&A Archive.

Year's Top News in the
Food Label Community

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Gluten-free labeling: FDA's Final Rule

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FDA moves to eliminate GRAS status for partially hydrogenated oils

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Generic labeling expands for meat & poultry: USDA's Final Rule

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Lawsuits abound for foods labeled "natural"

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State, federal & judicial action for GMO labeling

Connect with other food labelers on LinkedIn

Reader Favorites

Most Popular Q&As of 2012

	Search answers to food label questions

Food Label News will continue to respond to one question per month as space permits. You are always welcome to send us your question for an upcoming issue.

Package Claims: U.S. and Canada - Part 3 of 8
Health Claims for U.S.

This month’s installment in our 8-part series overviews U.S. health claims. This series is designed to help food labelers become familiar with what claims and label statements are allowable and how to position a product’s nutritional attributes to achieve marketing objectives.

U.S. health claims characterize the ability of a nutrient or functional component to reduce the risk of a disease or a health-related condition such as cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. In the guide we overview SSA claims (based on Significant Scientific Agreement), FDAMA claims (based on the FDA Modernization Act of 1997), and Qualified Health Claims.

View/print Part 3 of the series.

If you missed Part 1 or Part 2 of the series you can view and download it now. The print-ready pages form all parts of the series will add up the complete regulatory guide for U.S. and Canadian package claims.

Reader Q&A

Find answers to our readers' questions or send us your question for an upcoming issue.

Q.	On the product label, our company information has been stated as Manufactured for (Company Name), Address. Is it possible to add some phrase such as "under exclusive license" in the middle, so it will come out as: Manufactured under exclusive license for (Company Name)? − S.K., New York, Specialty Food Distributor
A.	Yes. The Code of Federal Regulations has no restrictions for adding this type of language to the distribution information as long as it is truthful and not misleading. More reader questions.

What matters in food labeling

Food Label News, now in its 14th year, is a monthly e-newsletter reaching over 8,000 subscribers around the world. We welcome your colleagues to subscribe for news and insights about food labels: www.foodlabels.com/subscribe

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