Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: When was the nutrition facts label first required by law in the U.S.?
The label was mandated for most food products under the provisions of the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), per the recommendations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.[24] It was one of several controversial actions taken during the tenure of FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler. The law required food companies to begin using the new food label on packaged foods beginning May 8, 1994. (Meat and poultry products were not covered by NLEA, though the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed similar regulations for voluntary labeling of raw meat and poultry.[25]) Foods labeled before that day could use the old label. This appeared on all products in 1995. The old label was titled "Nutrition Information Per Serving" or simply, "Nutrition Information".
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed several simultaneous improvements to nutrition labeling for the first time in over 20 years.[35][36] The proposed changes were based on trends of consumption of nutrients of public health importance.[37] However, studies had shown that the majority of the U.S. population could not understand the information in the then current Nutrition Facts Label.[38] Nutrition label numeracy is particularly low in older individuals, of black and Hispanic race/ethnicity, who are unemployed, born outside of the US, have lower English proficiency, lower education achievement, lower income, or live in the South.[39]
Nutrition facts labels are only one of many types of food label required by regulation or applied by manufacturers.
In the United States, nutrition information is required on packaged retail foods in the form of nutrition facts panels as a result of food labeling regulations. In recent years, many restaurants have begun posting nutrition information as a result of both customer demand and menu-labeling laws.
Because orange drinks can be confused with orange juice, the U.S. government requires orange drinks, as well as other beverages whose names allude to fruit products, to state the percentage of juice contained above the "Nutrition Facts" label. and requires companies to state them as orange drinks instead of orange juice.
The law gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to require nutrition labeling of most foods regulated by the Agency; and to require that all nutrient content claims (for example, 'high fiber', 'low fat', etc.) and health claims meet FDA regulations. The act did not require restaurants to comply with the same standards.
In 1990, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required that nutrition labels be put on food products in the United States. The thought behind doing so was to provide consumers with the necessary information to make educated decisions about the foods that they purchased. Since that time, nutrition psychologists have done research on how influential these labels are on how consumers choose what foods to buy. These studies have shown mixed results concerning the effects of nutritional labeling. According to the research, the average consumer does tend to read the labels and take the information into consideration, in part because companies have begun producing foods with more health-conscious ingredients. However, many of these potential health benefits are overshadowed by the continuing increase in obesity and deaths related to obesity in the United States over the last few decades.
The Food and Nutrition Board subsequently revised the RDAs every five to ten years. In 1973, the FDA introduced regulations to specify the format of nutrition labels when present, although the inclusion of such labels was largely voluntary, only being required if nutrition claims were made or if nutritional supplements were added to the food. The nutrition labels were to include percent U.S. RDA based on the 1968 RDAs in effect at the time. The RDAs continued to be updated (in 1974, 1980 and 1989) but the values specified for nutrition labelling remained unchanged.
Food labeling requirements are spelled out in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (abbreviated FFDCA, FDCA, or FD&C). Nutrition labeling is required for most prepared foods, and is voluntary for raw produce and fish. The most recognizable label is the nutrition facts label found on all prepared foods. This lists the suggested serving size followed by the amount per serving of calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, protein, and a list of some micronutrients found in the food. Ingredients are also included on the label, listed from the highest quantity to the lowest quantity.
Provisions for the nutrition labeling of standard menu items at chain restaurants became effective on March 23, 2010, when President Barack Obama signed the bill into law. Because specific provisions of the law depend on rules developed by the Food and Drug Administration, certain requirements could not be immediately enforced.
Dietary Reference Intake values are published by the Institute of Medicine for general use, but nutrition facts labels in the U.S. use the older Reference Daily Intake standards instead.
In 2017, Shorefast launched its Economic Nutrition Label. The labels, available for most of Fogo Island Shop’s retail items, as well as for the cost of a stay at Fogo Island Inn, show “where the money goes” when consumers make purchases at Shorefast's social businesses. As a play on the classic nutrition fact labels legally required on food products in most countries, the Economic Nutrition Label shows how much of the purchase price of any particular item goes towards production processes including labour, materials, or operations, as well as the money’s geographical destination. The labels "are intended to bring transparency to where the money from your purchase goes – how it will be invested in the local community and how it impacts the broader economy."
In Hong Kong nutrition facts labels are regulated by the subsidiary legislation Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment: Requirements for Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claim) Regulation 2008.[15]
The nutrition facts label (also known as the nutrition information panel, and other slight variations) is a label required on most packaged food in many countries. Most countries also release overall nutrition guides for general educational purposes. In some cases, the guides are based on different dietary targets for various nutrients than the labels on specific foods.
Because of past scandals involving deceptive labelling, countries like the United States and Canada require most processed foods to have a Nutrition facts label on the label, and the table's formatting and content must conform to strict guidelines. The European Union equivalent is the slightly different Nutrition information table, which may also be supplemented with standardized icons indicating the presence of allergens.
Some states imposed nutrition labeling regulations prior to the enactment of the ACA. Section 4205 prohibits states from imposing nutrition labeling requirements that are different from or not included in section 4205.
US Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition: Health Canada: U.K. Food Standards Agency: (The actual text of the labeling regulation in the U.S.)
Effective Jan. 1, 2006, the Nutrition Facts Labels on packaged food products are required by the FDA to list how many grams of trans fatty acid (trans fat) are contained within one serving of the product.
To promote healthy eating, the Let's Move! initiative emphasizes nutrition information, a next generation food "icon", food nutrition labeling and having pediatricians as partners.[18] The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) presents its Let's Move food choice guidelines on the webpage called MyPlate, located at ChooseMyPlate.gov.[19] Guidelines take the form of "half all grains eaten should be whole grains" [20] and 37 nutrition tips.[21] Let's Move! also provides consumers with nutrition information through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (or FDA)'s "New Front-of-Package Labeling Initiative" and "New Menu and Vending Machines Labeling Requirements".[22]
Recently many state and local menu-labeling laws have been passed requiring restaurants to post nutrition information on menus and menu boards, or have it readily available upon customer request. Restaurants have had to perform nutrition analysis in order to generate nutrition information and conform to these laws. More recently national legislation has been introduced that would set a national standard for menu labeling, the most popular of which is the LEAN act.
In Canada, a standardized "Nutrition Facts" label was introduced as part of regulations passed in 2003, and became mandatory for most prepackaged food products on December 12, 2005. (Smaller businesses were given until December 12, 2007 to make the information available.).[4] In accordance with food packaging laws in the country, all information, including the nutrition label, must be written in both English and French, the country's two official languages.[5]
The FDA does not require any specific typeface be used in the Nutrition Facts label, mandating only that the label "utilize a single easy-to-read type style",[30] though its example label uses Helvetica.[31] However, as regulated by the FDA and the USDA, it is mandatory for certain information listed in the label to be written in English, including: name of the product, net quantity, serving size and number of servings per package, nutrition facts, ingredient list, and name of manufacturer or distributor.[32] The smallest lettering should be at least 1/16th of an inch tall (1.5875 millimeters), based on the height of a lowercase "o".[33]
The nutrition facts label currently appears on more than 6.5 billion food packages. President Bill Clinton issued an award of design excellence for the nutrition facts label in 1997 to Burkey Belser in Washington, DC.[29]
In the United States, alcoholic beverages are regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). As of 2012, the TTB does not require alcoholic beverage packaging to have a nutrition facts label. Since at least 2003, consumer groups have lobbied the TTB to require labelling disclosing Nutrition Facts information.[48] Some marketing terms, such as "light" and "table wine", must follow TTB guidelines. Packaging must disclose alcohol content in some circumstances.[48]
CFSAN is also responsible for food labeling, specifically the "Nutrition Facts" panel typically seen on packaged foods. Ingredient declarations are also required, and this is important for consumers with food allergies