DECEMBER 2001
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...INTOUCH...
Monthly Updates on Government Action Affecting Food Labels
December
7, 2001
Brought to you by The Food Consulting Company
Your source for food label help
http://www.foodlabels.com
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Greetings! The Food Consulting Company is
working as
busily as Santa's elves to help you get your labels
right. We'll
be happy to help you speedily wrap up your label
projects.
NOW THE NEWS!
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FDA Reminds Industry on Proper Label
Claims
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In October, FDA published a document defining three
categories of claims that can be used on food and
dietary
supplement labels: health claims, structure/function
claims, and
nutrient content claims. The document is a reminder
that the
manufacturer and FDA (and the Federal Trade
Commission, in
the case of advertising) are responsible for ensuring
the validity
of label claims. See document:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/hclaims.html
Author's Note: This excellent summary document will
be helpful
to all manufacturers when writing label claims.
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NIH Announces Availability of CARDS Database
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The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the
National
Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the availability
of the
Computer Access to Research on Dietary Supplements
(CARDS). CARDS is a database of federally funded
research
pertaining to dietary supplements and currently
contains
projects funded during 1999; it will expand to include
projects
from subsequent years and other Federal agencies.
Access CARDS:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/databases/cards.html
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USDA Proposes to Expand Pizza Definition
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Responding to a petition from the National Frozen
Pizza
Institute (NFPI), USDA proposes to eliminate standards
of
identity for "pizza with meat'' and "pizza with
sausage.''
NFPI demonstrated that the standards are restricting
the
development of new products and that consumers'
expecta-
tions of what is meant by "pizza'' are broader than
those
prescribed by current standards. Read proposal:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/01-018P.htm.
Submit comments by Jan. 2, 2002.
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FYI TIP: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has
announced
it will not permit the use of the "5 a Day for Better
Health" logo on
imports of pre-packaged fresh fruits and vegetables
from the
United States after August 31, 2002; the logo is at
odds with the
Canadian message "5-10 a Day." Read USDA Foreign
Agricultural Service announcement:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200110/130682530.pdf
© Food Consulting Company, 2001. |