OCTOBER
2004
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...INTOUCH... Volume 5/Number 10 -
October 1,
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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monthly update
on government action affecting food labels - in HTML
or in
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Consulting
Company is considering HTML format. HTML format will
look
like a web page - in other words a bit fancier. Vote
now!
-- HTML newsletters, click
mailto:html@foodlabels.com
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has a new look! Visit us now at
http://www.foodlabels.com
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Declaring Allergens on Food Labels Requires Research
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a September 2004 press release, Food Consulting
Com-
pany advises food companies to prepare now to meet the
January 1, 2006, compliance date for federally
mandated
allergen labeling because in order to meet certain
require-
ments manufacturers may have to research ingredient
makeup
to determine or rule out exposure to allergens. Karen
Duester,
Food Consulting Company president, explained that
effective
on the compliance date, labels must declare if any
ingredient
is derived from or has been in contact with a major
allergen at
any time during the manufacture process. This
includes
incidental additives (ingredients without technical or
functional
effect) found in flavorings, colorings, and other
ingredients.
Existing ingredient labeling regulations do not
require declar-
ation of incidental additives, so manufacturers are
not routinely
declaring these even if they are derived from or have
been
physically associated with a major allergen.
Read press release at
http://www.foodlabels.com/pr_040922.htm
Read August 2004 INTOUCH report on allergen labeling
law
http://www.foodlabels.com/archive/2004_08.htm
...INTOUCH... Comments:
Food Consulting Company does the work for you. As
routine
practice, Food Consulting Company follows the
federally man-
dated allergen labeling law as part of the Ingredient
Statement
service that can be ordered at
http://www.foodlabels.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Qualified Health Claim for Food Labels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On September 8, 2004, FDA approved use of a Qualified
Health Claim (QHC) for conventional foods related to
omega-3 fatty acids and coronary heart disease. This
QHC was previously approved for use on dietary supple-
ments February, 2002.
The approved FDA claim reads "Supportive but not
conclusive research shows that consumption of EPA and
DHA omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of
coronary
heart disease. One serving of [name of food] provides
[x]
grams of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids." In some
cases, the disclosure statement "See nutrition
information
for total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol content"
must be
included with the claim.
FDA based approval of the claim on the agency's
"Interim
Procedures for Qualified Health Claims in the Labeling
of
Conventional Human Food and Human Dietary Supple-
ments." This claim is only the second QHC to date for
conventional foods; the other approved claim regards
nuts
and heart disease.
Read FDA news release
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01115.html
See April 2002 INTOUCH reporting at
http://www.foodlabels.com/archive/2002_04.htm
for earlier discussion about this claim and dietary
supplements.
...INTOUCH... Comments:
To be certain your product label claims are accurate
and com-
pliant with FDA regulations, choose Full Label
Compliance
Package or Label Compliance Review at
http://www.foodlabels.com
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Subcontractors Sought for Food Label Projects
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Food Consulting Company has doubled its orders for
food
label projects from just 36 months ago. In order to
fulfill its
commitment for accurate, on-time completion, the
company
is expanding its pool of subcontractors. Karen
Duester, Food
Consulting Company president, said candidates for sub-
contract work are people with extensive knowledge of
food
composition, and of U.S. and Canadian food labeling
regula-
tions. They must also have experience working with
nutrient
databases (particularly Genesis R&D).
In addition to technical expertise, Food Consulting
Company
is seeking subcontractors who have a reputation for
being trust-
worthy in business dealings and who possess traits of:
- reliability in fulfilling agreements according to
timelines
- tenacity to see a project commitment through to the
end
- prompt email, verbal, and written communication
- resourcefulness to independently solve problems
- ownership and pride in a job well done
Interested individuals should send an email
highlighting their
qualifications to Food Consulting Company at
mailto:topperformers@foodlabels.com
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FYI: Food facility registration is mandatory for both
domestic
and foreign companies, yet a recent FDA update reports
that
as of September 17, 2004, only 221,450 food facilities
had
registered as required by the 2002 Bioterrorism Act.
FDA
estimates that the total number of facilities that
must register
is approximately 420,000. The July 2004 INTOUCH
article
"Reminder! New FDA Regulations for Importers" at
http://www.foodlabels.com/newsletter.htm
provides a link for
self-registration.
© Food Consulting Company, 2004. |