Industry Responds: FDA Delays Deadline for New Nutrition Labels

14 Jun 2017 --- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to delay the deadline for revamped nutrition food labels, pushing it back from July 26, 2018. Companies with annual food sales of less than $10 million had been given an extra year to comply.

No new date has been set, according to FDA spokeswoman Deborah Kotz. The delay comes in response to companies' and trade groups' requests for more time.

“Numerous stakeholders have informed us that they have significant concerns about their ability to update all their labels by the compliance date due to issues regarding (among other things) the need for upgrades to labeling software, getting nutrition information from suppliers, the number of products that would need new labels and a limited time for the reformulation of products,” the FDA explained.

Changes to the new nutritional food label include the calorie count and serving size shown more prominently and more detail about added sugar and updated recommended daily intake values.

The FDA, who initially proposed a nutrition facts label change in March 2014, said it wanted “to reflect updated scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. The new label will make it easier for consumers to make better-informed food choices.”

GMA Applauds FDA’s Intention to Extend Compliance Date for Nutrition Facts Panel Update
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) have applauded the FDA announced intention to extend the compliance date for label changes to the Nutrition Facts Panel (NFP) on food and beverage products.

FDA issued the final regulation in May 2016, more than a year ago, requiring revisions to the Nutrition Facts Panel by July 2018. The agency has not yet issued vitally important final guidance on added sugars and dietary fibers that is essential for companies to make label updates. FDA announced that it was extending the original July 2018 deadline. The extension allows the federal agency to complete the necessary final guidance documents and gives companies adequate time to make the Nutrition Facts Panel revisions.

“FDA’s common-sense decision will reduce consumer confusion and costs,” said Pamela G. Bailey, GMA’s president and CEO. “Food and beverage manufacturers are committed to giving consumers the information and tools they need to make informed choices, such as by updating the Nutrition Facts Panel. But the fast-approaching compliance deadline was virtually impossible to meet without the needed final guidance documents from FDA. FDA’s extension is both reasonable and practical.”

IDFA Appreciates FDA Extension on Nutrition Facts Label Compliance
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) appreciates the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announced intention to extend the compliance dates for the new Nutrition Facts label and Serving Size rules.

“On behalf of our members, we thank the Food and Drug Administration for extending the compliance timeline for the new Nutrition Facts label and Serving Size rules. Dairy foods companies are committed to giving consumers the information they need to make informed choices, and appreciate the extra time to be sure that the information on the labels is complete and accurate,” said Cary Frye, IDFA vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs.

In the past, IDFA has urged government officials to align the compliance dates for the Nutrition Facts label changes with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s disclosure standard for bioengineered foods, which is required by law to be issued by July 2018.  Having two separate compliance deadlines would require food and beverage manufacturers to go through the expensive and time-consuming process of changing the label twice on every food package in the United States.

“Our member companies are hopeful that once FDA announces the new implementation timeline they will be able to avoid the confusion and extra cost incurred by changing their product labels twice – first to comply with the changes to the Nutrition Facts label and again when the U.S. Department of Agriculture specifies how genetically engineered foods and ingredients need to be labeled.”

Although FDA announced its intention to extend the Nutrition Facts label compliance date to provide additional time for implementation, no timeline was set. FDA said it will provide details of the extension through a Federal Register notice at a later time.