Food Label News ArchiveFood Label News SubscriptionsNutritional Analysis Food Labels - Food Nutrition Facts LabelsFood Consulting Company: Nutrition-Labeling-Regulatory

Volume 16, Number 11 - November 2016

Hello from Food Label News! As the holidays approach and we indulge with a bit of added sugar in our diets, read about the topic of added sugars and the new % Daily Value (DV), Part 6 of our New Nutrition Label Series. If you missed any of the series, be sure to view past articles to understand the new food label regulations and why they matter to you. You can also stay informed through the Food Label Community on LinkedIn.

In this issue you'll find:

 

"Thank you, thank you - I value getting this information. It is so informative!"

– Judy Grandcolas  
Pizza Blends, Inc.  

Understanding Added Sugar and New %DV:
Part 6, New Nutrition Label Series

What's News in the Food Label Community

Reader Q&A: Labeling Flavors

 

Karen C. Duester, President


Understanding Added Sugar and New %DV: Part 6, New Nutrition Label Series

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines released earlier this year set the stage for additional labeling requirements for food manufacturers with regard to added sugars content. The Dietary Guidelines advise healthy Americans to limit added sugars to less than 10% of total calories.

Reader Favorites

Key Differences in Allergen Labeling for U.S. and Canada

Search

Currently, consumers get about 13% of their total calories from added sugars. The major sources include:

Sugar sweetened beverages - soft drinks, fruit drinks, coffee and tea, sport and energy drinks, and alcoholic beverages.

Snacks and sweets – grain-based desserts, dairy desserts, candies, sugars, jams, syrups and sweet toppings.

It's not surprising therefore, that FDA's new nutrition labeling regulations released in May require added sugars to be included in the Nutrition Facts label along with a Daily Reference Value of 50g (i.e., 10% of a 2,000 calorie diet).

Key points to consider when declaring added sugars:

Only some sugars count as "added sugars." Added sugars includes free, mono- and disaccharides, syrups, honey, concentrated fruit or vegetable juice (in excess of the sugar that would be expected from the same volume of 100 percent juice).

There are exceptions to the above including: concentrated juices sold to consumers (e.g., frozen 100% fruit juice concentrate), juice concentrates used to achieve a total percentage juice declaration or Brix standardization, fruit components of jellies, jams, preserves and fruit spreads.

Laboratory nutrition analysis cannot be used to determine added sugar content as "added sugars" and naturally occurring sugars are not chemically different.

A new recordkeeping requirement documents added sugars for formulated foods that contain both added and naturally occurring sugars.

Check out our easy-to-understand, quick reference to help you understand the nuances.

Next month we continue with Part 7: Understanding Fiber and its New Definition. To read previous articles in the series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 or Part 5.

The requirement to declare "added sugars" is not as straightforward as many other parts of the new food label regulations. For example, dried fruits are not considered added sugars whereas concentrated fruit or vegetable purees and pastes are not specified in the regulations. FDA recognizes this confusion and intends to issue guidance documents later this year or the beginning of 2017.


What's News in the Food Label Community

FDA update: Nutrition Initiatives Compliance Date Q&As

Protein %DV (8+ comments)

Rounding rules for vitamins and minerals (11+ comments)

Fruit puree concentrate count as added sugar? (12+ comments)

New FDA Nutrition Facts label in Canada? (9+ comments)

Join Food Label Community. Already a member, view Discussions.

Reader Q&A

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

Q.

If I'm using a natural caramel flavor for a muffin I'd like to call a "Caramel Muffin", how do I indicate on the front of the package that it's flavored and not formulated with actual caramel?   
K.D., New York, Food Manufacturer 

A.

When natural flavor is used in a formula instead of the actual ingredient that the flavor is derived from, the product must be labeled as "naturally flavored" or "flavored" immediately adjacent to the actual ingredient. Therefore, in your example, the product must be called "caramel flavored muffin" and simply "caramel muffin" is not acceptable. This requirement applies to every location where the flavor name is listed on the package (other than the ingredient list). Read more.


What Matters in Food Labeling

Food Label News, now in its 16th year, is a monthly e-newsletter reaching over 9,500 subscribers around the world. We welcome your colleagues to subscribe for news and insights about food labels: www.foodlabels.com/subscribe

 

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.

© 2016. Food Consulting Company, Del Mar, CA. All rights reserved.