FEBRUARY 2004
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...INTOUCH... Volume 5/Number 2 - February
6, 2004
Monthly Updates on Government Action Affecting Food
Labels
Brought to you by: Food Consulting Company
Your source for food label help at
www.foodlabels.com
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Greetings!
INTOUCH reports on government action affecting food
labels.
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Truthful "Net Carb" Statements on Food Labels are
Allowed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The term NET CARBS, sometimes referred to as "net
impact
carbohydrates" or "net effective carbohydrates", is
designed
to reflect the amount of carbohydrate a product
contains that
will impact blood glucose levels. Food companies that
use a
"net carb" statement on food labels can do so as long
as the
statement is truthful and not misleading.
The "net carb" value is derived from:
total carbohydrates - dietary fiber - sugar alcohols =
net carbs
To fulfill the "truthful and not misleading" premise,
the amounts
of each component must be derived by FDA-allowed
methods.
An FDA spokesperson confirmed to INTOUCH that FDA has
not announced or published any statements regarding
the
agency's intention to undertake rulemaking for
carbohydrate
claims. The spokesperson told INTOUCH that the 2004
CFSAN Program Priorities -- expected to be released in
February -- may describe any such steps FDA plans to
take
at this time.
At least one group, Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA),
has formally petitioned FDA to establish new
regulations for
carbohydrate-related nutrient content claims. And, in
a news
release, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
has
called on FDA to provide tighter regulation for
carbohydrate-
related claims on food labels.
Read GMA news release:
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=149-02022004
Read CSPI news release:
http://www.cspinet.org/new/200402021.html
INTOUCH Comments: For more information on currently
allowed
carbohydrate claims, see October 2003 and November
2003
INTOUCH at
http://www.foodlabels.com/newsletter.htm
INTOUCH will continue to report developments on
carbohydrate
claims and labeling statements since many Food
Consulting
Company clients have expressed interest in this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Food Labels & Nutrition: FDA 2003 Activity / 2004
Priorities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A white paper entitled "Protecting and Advancing
Consumer
Health and Safety" highlights some of FDA's work on
the
agency's 2003 priorities and major initiatives, and
describes
how FDA intends to build on many of these initiatives
in 2004.
The nutrition and food labels initiatives are reported
in the
paper under "Better Information for Better Nutrition"
section
and include:
-- improving health claims and food labeling
-- trans fat labeling
-- formation of FDA's Obesity Working Group
-- nationwide education campaigns
Access FDA's white paper:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/whitepapers/consumers.html
INTOUCH Comments: According to a spokesperson for
the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN),
the CFSAN FY2004 Program Priorities "should be out in
February - maybe the middle of the month." The
priorities
will shed more light on the 2004 initiatives. When
pub-
lished, they will be accessible at
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cfsan3.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NAS and FTC Advise FDA on Improving Nutrition Labels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has
published
a report entitled "Dietary Reference Intakes:
Guiding
Principles for Nutrition and Fortification." The
report was
prepared by NAS to satisfy a request from FDA, the
USDA, and Health Canada, to study and report on
the use
of Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI's) in nutrition
labeling
and fortification. The report focuses on how the
DRI's can
be used to develop appropriate Daily Values (DV's)
for
Nutrition Facts labeling.
Read NAS report:
http://www.nap.edu/books/0309091438/html
2) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a comment
with FDA regarding the link between weight
management
and food labels and packaging in response to FDA's
request for public comment to the Obesity Working
Group.
The FTC comment suggests that FDA should:
-- review certain serving sizes to make sure that they
are
accurate and evaluate whether serving size
information
is clear and prominent on the label
-- allow companies greater flexibility in making
reduced
calorie claims for foods
-- permit comparative claims between different types
and
portions of food
-- allow health claims that relate reduced calorie
consump-
tion to a reduction in risk of obesity-related
disease
Access FTC comment:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/12/fdaobesity.htm
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FYI: The National Institutes of Health Office of
Dietary
Supplements has released a five-year strategic plan
entitled, 'Promoting Quality Science in Dietary
Supplement
Research, Education and Communication: A Strategic
Plan
for the Office of Dietary Supplements 2004-2009'.
The strategic plan is posted at
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov
© Food Consulting Company, 2004. |