RL Food Testing Laboratory has announced the new mandatory changes to the nutrition facts label to be implemented by July 26, 2018 by all US food manufacturers with more than $10 million in annual sales.

RL Food Testing Laboratory, a provider of nutrition analysis and FDA-compliant Nutrition Facts Labels for food products intended for sale in the United States, has announced the new mandatory changes to the nutrition facts label to be implemented by July 26, 2018 by all food manufacturers with more than $10 million in annual sales. Food manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual sales will have until July 26, 2019 to comply. The multiple changes may require food manufacturers to alter their marketing and potentially institute reformulations. RL Food Testing was a contributor to the new regulation during the review process with the FDA.

“With the extensive FDA-required changes coming to the Nutrition Label, the biggest mistake food manufacturers can make is waiting too long to get their new labels on the shelves,” said RL Food Testing Laboratory’s Registered Dietician and Food Label Expert, Emily Fonnesbeck, RD, CD. “Retailers are eager to have the new labels on their products because the original impetus for the change was consumer driven. Even though the FDA label is not required by food manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual sales until 2019, almost every retailer that carries those products will require a nutrition fact label to meet consumer demand and company policies for that information.”

Mandatory changes include:

+ A redesign of the label, focusing more on calories and servings per container, with larger type size font and more prominent placement of calories.

+ The recommended serving sizes will be updated to reflect a more realistic representation of what consumers eat in one sitting.

+ The Daily Values (DV) have been updated, some of which will include sodium and fiber.

+ Sugars not occurring naturally in food, which are added by the manufacturer, must be declared as a required nutrient under the section for Added Sugars.

+ Dietary Fiber has been defined as a non-digestible carbohydrate and fibers which are beneficial to human health may be reported on the label.

+ Vitamin A and C are no longer required and have been replaced with Vitamin D and Potassium.

+ The foot note table has been removed and a statement has been added to explain what DVs mean.

+ A dual column label will be required for packages which contain between 200% to 300% of the standard serving size and can be consumed in one sitting or multiple sittings.