Truth in Labeling – A Lifestyle, Practice and Philosophy:
A term I’ve used for years as it relates to clearly identifying ingredients and values that make up a product. All-Natural, Non-GMO, Organic, Artificial represents the type of ingredients making up a product, but can also be an insight into the company’s philosophy and practices.
Food Understood as a Child Growing Up:
The family meal or with relatives was very tasty, using quality natural ingredients now identified as “real food”. Every single ingredient in a dish or dessert was easy to pronounce and explain.
A meal item would regularly become table talk following a compliment on a flavor or aroma. The author of the dish was happy to describe everything included in the recipe and sometimes the benefits of a specific ingredient.
Label Reading is More Popular:
In my observation, when meeting with clients and/or observing people at the grocery, it appears more consumers than not, are picking up a package to read what’s inside or the nutritional values offered.
In my opinion, closely reading labels has increased over the past five years. Another benchmark, clients stating they want as few ingredients as possible, natural, purposeful, and high quality.
Ingredient Label Declaration as a Result of Being a Purposeful Product:
Once marketing claims started showing up on the front of the package, such as No Added Sugar and No Artificial Ingredients, it became necessary to back up claims by clearly listing all ingredients on the package back.
Nutrition Label to Support Value Claims:
As marketing terms began showing up on the front of a label, such as Low in Fat, Reduced Calories, No Fat, or No-Trans Fats, backing up the claims required clearly displaying values on the nutrition box on the package back.
Nutrition Panel and Ingredient Statement:
When the FDA enacted NLEA in 1990 or Nutrition Label and Education Act it was to educate consumers and encourage consumption of healthful foods. For me as a consultant in dairy and plant-based frozen products, it was a welcome uniting of nutritional facts and ingredient listing.
In 1993 the FDA then passed the first, seven health claims made by scientific consensus from results of epidemiological, animal, and clinical research studies.
Nutrition Panel July 1, 2021 Deadline:
Today a nutrition panel is required to include the following:
- Serving size in bold type
- Update the size of a serving
- Number of calories in large, bold type
- Daily values updated
- Include a line for Added Sugar
- Changes in some nutrient requirements
- The actual amounts in values declared
- A new footnote
Companies Affected by The Label Enactment:
- Manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual sales were required to update their labels by January 1, 2020
- Manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales were required to update their labels by January 1, 2021
Clean Label Forum:
Today there is a company called MerryField whose slogan is “we believe there should be a higher standard for everyday products”.
People want products using ingredients that don’t harm people or the planet. The phrase on their site that basically states, what I preach as practice and philosophy of truth in labeling, clean label, and better for you products.
They offer a helpful glossary of terms to clear up any confusion on terms.
Currently, they offer an Apple app (Android next year) and to encourage people to look for and purchase “good for you foods”. Users can earn 10 points per dollar each and every time your receipt (paper or digital!) includes any product from the participating better-for-you brands you see on the app. And when you earn points, you can redeem them for great gift cards.
Size Doesn’t Matter:
No matter the size or age of your food, drink, or dessert company, if you plan on selling your product at the grocery store, C-Stores, or direct to consumer, make sure the updated nutrition panel is on the package.
Schedule time with Darryl to clearly understand nutritional labeling, ingredient statements, and truth in labeling, in the long run, it can save you time, expense, and waste.
Nutrition Label Original & Updated
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