The New Nutritional Labels

The Lempert Report
April 23, 2018

They're finally coming to your store shelves.

It’s a project started by then First Lady Michelle Obama and was delayed by the current administration at the urging of some food trade groups. However, what we have experienced has been a swell of food brands that voluntarily made the changes – as they felt it was better for the consumer. What an idea. And these companies, who put the consumer needs first are the ones who continue to build a strong relationship with them. 

Now, FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb has announced new guidance for food manufacturers. The new nutritional label has a larger font size for calories counts, a new callout for added sugars, and most importantly serving sizes that are more realistic. 

The new guidance also includes a revised definition of dietary fiber in food. Now, the term will only include non-digestible carbs that are proven to have health benefits. 

FDA announced new guidance for honey, maple syrup, and cranberry products to help them label added sugars on their nutritional labels. 

“While honey and maple syrup meet the definition of added sugars, we heard concerns from industry that declaring added sugars on their single ingredient products may lead consumers to think their pure products – such as a jar of honey or maple syrup – actually contain added table sugar because added sugars are listed on the Nutrition Facts label,” FDA head Gottlieb said. “We also heard from cranberry juice manufacturers that their products need to be sweetened for palatability because cranberries have less natural sugar than other fruits.” 

FDA has now proposed a compliance date of January 1, 2020 for large food manufacturers and January 1, 2021 for smaller food manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual sales. The original deadline was July of this year.