Volume 13, Number
11 - November 2013
Greetings from Food Label News.
This November, we are filled with gratitude as we celebrate
Food Consulting Company's 20th anniversary providing food labeling
and regulatory guidance for our clients around the world.
It's been a pleasure to bring you Food Label News (now
in its 14th year) and see how engaging the Food Label
Community on
LinkedIn has become. In this issue, we discuss the
confusion around counting calories, always a popular topic
with consumers. We also begin an 8-part series on package
claims for the U.S. and Canada a popular topic for food
labelers. Giving thanks for all our blessings.
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Calorie Counting Confusion
The method for quantifying calories for Nutrition Facts
labeling can be confusing to food labelers and consumers
alike. There are five methods allowed for determining
calories that can result in slightly different values.
1. |
General
4-4-9 factors carbohydrate and protein each
contribute 4 calories per gram, fat contributes
9 calories per gram |
2. |
Adjusted 4-4-9 factors insoluble fiber is
subtracted from the carbohydrate total before
multiplying by 4 (since insoluble fiber does not
impact the calorie value of foods) |
3. |
Specific Atwater factors |
4. |
Other specific food factors approved by FDA |
5. |
Bomb calorimetry |
While the 4-4-9 method is allowable and generally used
with laboratory analysis, it is the least accurate of
the five. These "average" factors generally overstate
calories because specific ingredients often contain
fewer calories than the average factor would indicate.
For example, dextrose (a carbohydrate) contains 3.4
calories per gram, not 4 calories per gram as the 4-4-9
method would indicate.
Food Consulting Company uses a database nutritional analysis
with Atwater or other food factors for most ingredients and
relies on an adjusted 4-4-9 calculation for those
ingredients where specific food factors are not available.
Over time we have found this to result in a more accurate
(and lower) calorie value than the general 4-4-9 method.
The challenge for food labelers and customer service is when
consumers attempt to validate calories using the 4-4-9
calculation shown in the optional footnote on the Nutrition
Facts. As we know, values can vary depending upon the
calorie determination method used. Customer service
representatives must be trained to explain your method of
calorie determination and confirm the accuracy of your
labels. |
What's News in the
Food Label Community
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Changes coming for Nutrition Facts
labels and serving sizes |
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"Natural" ... lawsuits, leaveners, rosemary extract, and more |
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New Qualified Health Claim links whole grains & type 2 diabetes |
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FDA Tweets! @FDAFood |
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Facts Up Front: use packaged or prepared values? |
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Using database analysis to determine nutrient values for a dehydrated product |
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Product naming for parmesan type bread with natural flavor but no parmesan
cheese |
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Labeling for steviol glycosides in
Canada |
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Connect with
other food labelers on LinkedIn |
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Reader Favorites
Key Differences in
Ingredient and
Allergen labeling for U.S. & Canada |
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Search answers
to food label questions |
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The "calories per gram" footnote for the Nutrition Facts
label is always optional. You may wish to consider omitting this footnote to
save label real estate and eliminate a potential customer service issue,
especially when the calorie determination method you are using results in a
different value than what the 4-4-9 method would yield. See a
sample nutrition facts label with and without the optional footnote. |
Package Claims: U.S. & Canada - An 8-Part Series
Label claims and statements are designed to capture
consumers' attention and increase product sales, but
developing compliant claims can be tricky. This 8-part
series will help food labelers become familiar with
allowable claims and how to position a products
nutritional attributes to achieve marketing objectives.
In this series of articles, you will find a quick
reference for: nutrient content claims, statements of
fact, health claims, structure/function claims, and
dietary guidance statements. Each month we will provide
print-ready pages that overview what you need to know
about making compliant label claims and statements. By
the conclusion of the series, you will have a complete
regulatory guide updated for 2013 for U.S. and Canadian
package claims.
This month's installment includes the front cover, table
of contents, and label claims and statements for
conventional foods vs. dietary supplements, as well as
disclosure statement requirements.
View/print
Part 1 of the series.
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Reader Q&A
Find
answers to our readers'
questions or send us
your question for an
upcoming issue.
Q. |
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?
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R.L., California, Retail Food Sales |
A. |
All
retail products must list all ingredients that have a
technical or functional effect in the finished product.
If the tricalcium phosphate aids in the flow of the
finished product, then it must be declared.
Read more. |
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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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Your virtual
food label partner
Food Consulting Company,
founded in 1993, provides nutrition analysis, food labeling,
and regulatory support for more than 1,500 clients worldwide.
Our
guarantee: 100% regulatory compliance.
Contact us
for the help you need now.
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.
© 2013. Food Consulting Company, Del Mar, CA. All rights reserved.
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