Weekend reading: The FDA on food label dietary guidance statements

Press release: FDA Works to Further Improve Nutrition, Reduce Diet-Related Chronic Disease with Dietary Guidance Statements on Food Labels

The draft guidance provides the agency’s thinking about the use of such statements, including recommendations that products contain a meaningful amount of the food, or category of foods, that is the subject of the statement, and that they also not exceed certain amounts of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.

Translation: The idea here is to make sure that packages making health claims can back them up, or disclose relevant information.  This will automatically eliminate health claims from lots of products (see post on “healthy”).

The FDA is proposing something like this.

Here are the relevant documents:

• Draft guidance: Questions and Answers About Dietary Guidance Statements in Food Labeling
• The Draft Guidance Document
• The Federal Register Notice
• Labeling & Nutrition Guidance Documents & Regulatory Information
• Constituent Udpate: FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Dietary Guidance Statements on Food Labels

This is all open for public comment now.  Here’s where to submit comments.

*******

For 30% off, go to www.ucpress.edu/9780520384156.  Use code 21W2240 at checkout.