Deadline Approaches To Adopt New Nutrition Facts Label

The January 2020 deadline is quickly approaching for companies to switch to the new Nutrition Facts label mandated by the Food and Drug Administration. With hopes to reflect new scientific information with a focus on sugar consumption, the FDA released news of the new Nutrition Facts label back in 2016.

Businesses with $10 million or more in annual sales must switch over to the new label by January 1, 2020. Manufacturers that make less than that have an additional year to comply.

What Does This Mean For Manufacturers?

With such a strict deadline, it is important to know the specifics about the new Nutrition Facts label so your business can be prepared. You may have already seen the new Nutrition Facts label on your favorite snack, because many manufacturers opted to adopt the latest stamp early. As one can see, the updated marker uses larger and bolder fonts to draw consumers to important information like serving size and calories. A new footnote and updated daily values provide accurate facts for shoppers to see how their food is incorporated into a 2,000-calories a day diet.

One of the biggest changes on the label is the inclusion of added sugars. A recent statement released by the FDA highlights that this addition will mostly affect honey, maple syrup, cranberry products and other single-ingredient sugars. Most of these goods that are high in natural sugars do not need to disclose the addition of sugar, but are required to include the daily value percentage for added sugars on their labels. The FDA argues that these foods are meant to be consumed alone or added to foods by consumers as a sweetener, so they will be an extra sugar to their diets. Considering most people in the U.S. are consuming added sugars in higher quantities than what is recommended by professionals, clearer labels are a step in the right direction for notifying shoppers.

While it is ultimately up to consumers to control their diet and added sugar intake, clear labels are one way the FDA is trying to help. The least manufacturers can do is inform customers about everything that goes into their products.

What Now?

The FDA called this new label regulation, “the most comprehensive reform to the Nutrition Facts label since its introduction in 1993,” in the same statement. Take this into consideration if you manufacture food and beverage products that may be affected.This will likely not be the last label reform by the FDA, but it is one of the most recent and most important.

Make sure to stay on top of official label news and obtain the printing infrastructure you need by visiting DuraFast’s U.S. store or Canada page.