DEL MAR, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Food Consulting Company,
specializing in the preparation of regulation-compliant food label components
for the food industry, cautions manufacturers to study food labeling
regulations of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before choosing "carb"
phrases for food labels. Label wording that might seem logical to communicate
carbohydrate content to consumers might not be allowed by FDA.
"The simplest, most direct phrase, 'low carb' for example is not allowed
on food labels," explained Karen Duester, president of Food Consulting
Company. FDA regulations for nutrient content claims (21CFR101.13) permit
labels to describe the level of certain nutrients in a product using the term
low, but FDA has not established values for carbohydrate in relation to
claims; therefore, the term "low" cannot be used in association with the term
carbohydrate or "carb" on food labels.
Referring to the FDA regulations, Duester said the terms "free," "zero,"
"no," "without," "trivial source of," "negligible source of," "dietarily
insignificant source of," "low," "little," "few," "contains a small amount
of," "low source of," "reduced," "less," "lower," "fewer," and any synonyms of
these words are disallowed to describe carbohydrate content on food labels.
However food labelers may make an accurate quantitative statement of fact
(e.g., 5g carbohydrate per serving), as long as the statement does not
characterize the amount of carbohydrate present. A statement such as "only 5g
carbs" for example, is not allowed since the word "only" characterizes the
level of carbohydrate as low.
Duester further explained that FDA regulations do not disallow the terms
"net carbs," "net impact carbs" or "net effective carbs" to describe
carbohydrate content on food labels. These terms are being used by the food
industry to reflect the amount of carbohydrate a product contains that will
impact blood glucose levels. The value is derived from the formula, net carbs
= total carbohydrates - dietary fiber - sugar alcohols.
Food labelers can receive fast and accurate carbohydrate labeling help
from Food Consulting Company, or they can refer to FDA's Food Labeling Guide,
available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/flg-toc.html; a summary of allowed
nutrient content claims can be found in appendix A.
Food Consulting Company, based in Del Mar, CA, is the largest out-source
provider assisting food companies in meeting FDA and USDA labeling
requirements. The company offers a full range of food labeling services
including product analysis (both database and laboratory), nutrition facts
panels, ingredient statements, full label compliance packages, shelf life
evaluations, final label reviews, and INTOUCH, a free monthly email newsletter
that keeps food companies informed on government action affecting food labels.
Duester can be reached through the company web site at
http://www.foodlabels.com, or by calling 800-793-2844.
SOURCE Food Consulting Company
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