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Nutritional Labeling Requirements

Responsibility for enforcing nutrition labeling requirements in the U.S. falls to two separate agencies. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) monitors nutrition labeling for meat, poultry and egg products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates foods outside the jurisdiction of the FSIS. The FSIS reports that the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) establishes nutrient labeling requirements, defines nutrients, sets standardized parameters for serving sizes, adopts a uniform format for labeling, and requires nutrition labeling on most foods containing more than trivial amounts of nutrients.
    • Who establishes and regulates nutrition labeling requirements?

    FDA Jurisdiction

    • According to the Food and Drug Administration, "food labeling is mandatory for most prepared foods including breads, cereals, canned and frozen foods, snacks, desserts and drinks." Raw produce and fish may display nutrition labels on a voluntary basis. Dietary supplements are not considered to be "conventional" food or drugs by the FDA. Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring both the safety of supplement products and truthful labeling. Once a dietary supplement hits the market, the FDA is the agency responsible for taking action against unsafe products.

    Specifications

    • The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, establishes that mandatory nutritional components must be listed in the following order: calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, protein, and vitamins and minerals (including, and in this order: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium and iron). As of January 1, 2006, the FDA requires trans fat data on nutrition labels, as well. The FDA permits other nutritional data on the label including but not limited to types of fat calories, potassium, fiber, and vitamins and minerals for which Reference Daily Intake (RDI) have been established. According to the FDA, otherwise voluntary nutritional data becomes mandatory "if the nutrients are added as a nutrient supplement to the food, if the label makes a nutrition claim about them, or if advertising or product literature provides information connecting the nutrients to the food."

    FSIS Jurisdiction

    • According to the USDA, the FSIS regulates food labeling for meat and poultry products under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), and regulates labeling for exotic species of animals under the Agricultural Marketing Act (AMA). Notably, the American Meat Institute (AMI) reports that single-ingredient meat and poultry products carry nutritional labeling on a voluntary basis. In other words, nutrition labels on most products monitored by FSIS are not mandatory.

    Considerations

    • While the FDA mandates labeling requirements and monitors compliance through "random post-market surveillance," the FSIS "requires pre-approval of all food labels before products that bear the mark of inspection may be offered for sale." Currently, the role of the FSIS is "to ensure that labeling is truthful, accurate, and not misleading," rather than to specify exactly which nutrition data must appear on labels.This approach may be changing soon, as, according to AMI, the FSIS will soon make nutrition information mandatory on single-ingredient meat products.

    Exemptions

    • Of the foods covered under FDA jurisdiction, a small percentage are exempt from nutrition labeling requirements. Custom processed fish and game are exempt, as is donated food given free to consumers. Other exemptions noted by the FSIS include products manufactured by a firm with 500 or fewer employees and products produced at less than 100,000 pounds annually. No nutritional claims are permitted on products exempt from nutrition labeling.

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