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Coming to Stores Near You: New and Improved Labeling

Coming to Stores Near You: New and Improved Labeling
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July 6, 1991, Section 1, Page 1Buy Reprints
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From June 21 to July 2, the Food and Drug Administration churned out dozens of proposals intended to solve problems with food-ingredient labeling that have confounded the agency for as long as 25 years.

The food agency also proposed voluntary nutrition-labeling guidelines for fresh fish, fruits and vegetables, and is working on mandatory nutrition labeling for all packaged foods.

The proposals would give consumers access to information they have been seeking for years. The new regulations would affect how sweeteners, artificial colors and other ingredients are listed on nutrition labels. They would also require disclosure of information on the waxes used to coat produce, the percentage of fruit in juices and the ingredients in nondairy creamers. The new regulations are intended to resolve a host of controversies that affect consumers' health and pocketbooks. Public Comment Period

The regulations are now subject to public comment. Some of them are expected to go into effect as soon as Nov. 8. Additional labeling requirements will become law on May 8, 1993, when nutrition labeling on all packaged foods will be mandatory.

"This is the largest amount of food-labeling activity since the early 1970's," said Elizabeth Campbell, chief of the regulations and industry activities branch in the agency's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "It was a cumulative effect. For years the agency has been building up steam. A lot more people were having problems with labels. I don't mean just consumers, industry too, and we were having problems because we were finding so many misleading labels."

After years of slow motion, this whirling dervish activity has sent the food industry scurrying to make dozens of labeling changes. The industry says it is going to be very difficult to meet the deadlines because 14,000 companies will be required to modify 94,000 labels. The F.D.A. estimates the total cost of relabeling at $250 million.

"This is F.D.A.'s big catch-up balloon act," said John R. Cady, president of the National Food Processors Association. "It's let's get well overnight."

Mr. Cady said the food industry did not mean to belittle the agency's efforts, but it should have tried to "get a better sense of what is doable in X amount of time."

Consumer groups have generally applauded the agency's work. Some of the proposals were mandated by Congress, and others were developed at the F.D.A. "Their proposed regulations resolve a number of long-standing consumer problems," said Bruce Silverglade, chief counsel to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group that has been lobbying for many of the changes. "They are terrific, as far as they go." Little Argument From Industry

The proposals have produced little argument from industry. "Some of this stuff has been kicking around so long and the industry has been talking privately to the F.D.A. for so long," said Jeff Nedelman, vice president of public affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers of America. "We are generally supportive of what the F.D.A. is doing."

He said the the only real point of controversy was over the issue of trade secret formulas, referring to the requirement that companies list by percentage the fruit juices they use in their blends.

But Mr. Silverglade said that argument was specious. "This information is routinely put on the label for any products American companies sell in Thailand," he said. Thailand is alone among countries in requiring labels to list ingredients by percentage.

The three new changes that are set to go into effect Nov. 8 involve fruit juices, artificial colors and so called standardized foods, foods for which the Government has not required full ingredient labeling. These standardized foods include products like enriched flours and mayonnaise, which are based on recipes set by the Government beginning in the 1930's to keep unscrupulous manufacturers from making substitutions with cheaper ingredients.

Also on Nov. 8, the proposed regulations for nutrition labeling that take effect May 8, 1993, will be published. No Extensions

In the past, when the food industry was dissatisfied with a proposed regulation and wanted time to make changes, it would ask for an extension of the period during which comments could be made.

"Not this time," Ms. Campbell said. "There will be no delays or extensions because the entire labeling reform initiative is on the fast track and the agency does not want to slow it down."

When the new regulations governing ingredient listings go into effect, those who read labels will be in for some interesting surprises, including these:

*Foods that contain more than one sweetener -- cereals, for example, often have three or more -- will be required to group together all the sweeteners. Grouping the sweeteners will put them higher in the ingredient statement, which is required to list ingredients in descending order of predominance. Theoretically, at least in some cereals, sweeteners could become the first ingredient.

*Labels will be required to include a statement explaining that ingredients are listed on a package in descending order of predominance by weight. The F.D.A. found at public hearings and meetings last year that many consumers do not know this.

*Artificial colors will be listed by specific name instead of under the general category of "artificial color." Currently, only Yellow No. 5 food coloring must be listed by name because some people are allergic to it.

*The 235 standardized foods will now be required to list their ingredients.

*New rules will govern the disclosure of the variety of wax used to coat fresh fruits and vegetables. The F.D.A. already has a rule requiring disclosure of waxes in retail stores, but it has never it. The rule is being modified, and states are being invited to enforce it.

*Nondairy products that contain sodium caseinate will be requiried to say that the casein is derived from milk. "Nondairy might be misleading," Ms. Campbell said. "It can be a problem for people who are milk sensitive."

*The "and/or" labeling permitted for fats and oils, as in soybean oil and/ or corn oil, will not be changed, but such labeling will not be extended to sweeteners, as the food industry requested in the 1970's. Consumer advocates wanted specific fat and oil labeling to allow people to avoid products high in saturated fat, but the food industry said it needed flexibility to take advantage of availability and price changes.

In addition to the regulations that apply to ingredients, the Food and Drug Administration has also released guidelines for voluntary nutrition labeling on the 20 most popular varieties of fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. These regulations are part of the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act that is to take effect May 8, 1993.

The information about these fresh foods must be in place in supermarkets by Nov. 8. The agency has provided a list of the 20 most popular items in each category: bananas, apples and watermelon lead the fruit category; potatoes, iceberg lettuce and tomatoes are the most popular vegetables, and shrimp and cod top the fish list. Meat and poultry, which are regulated by the Agriculture Department, are not covered.

The program is voluntary, and will remain so, if the F.D.A. finds that supermarkets around the country are in "substantial compliance" by May 8, 1993. Substantial compliance is defined as 60 percent of grocery stores providing the nutrition information 90 percent of the time. Grocery stores with annual sales under $500,000, as well as delicatessens, restaurants and roadside stands are exempt.

If there are not enough stores in compliance by May 1993, nutrititon information for fresh produce and fish will become mandatory.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section 1, Page 1 of the National edition with the headline: Coming to Stores Near You: New and Improved Labeling. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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