GENflex Weekender – Keeping You Up To Date on Food Labels

History

There’s a lot more to food labels than most of us realize. The first food labels were introduced in the 1850s. The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 prohibited misleading or false food label information, and in 1924, the Supreme Court put some teeth into food labels, indicating how transparent — or not — these labels had to be at the time. They ruled that labels could not be misleading or deceive consumers.

Government Oversight

In the United States, the food-labeling industry is regulated by two federal bodies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The USDA oversees the proper use of labels on meat, poultry, and egg products. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) primarily focuses on foods such as seafood, bioengineered food products, and dietary supplements posted on food labels.

Font and Terminology

Font sizes on labels are regulated by the FDA. Recently, they have been made larger to make it easier to see exactly how many calories a food product has. Steps are also being taken to clarify terms such as “servings per container” and “serving size.”

But What Fat?

The term “calories from fat” has been phased out. The FDA believes knowing the type of fat in a food product — saturated fat, trans fat, etc. — is much more important for consumers to know.

We Want Our Labels Back!

In 2017, cafeteria administrators at the University of Montana (UM) removed the nutritional food labels from the school’s main cafeteria. They did this because students took too much time to read the labels, causing line congestion. But the fact that reading food labels was causing congestion tells us that people want nutrition labels on food items. 

Why? Like most of us, these students are concerned about the ingredients in the food we select. After some hemming and hawing, the food labels have been welcomed back at UM.

GENflex Labeling Solutions has been a leading provider of packaging and labeling solutions for over 60 years. Our goal is to always be on time, on-spec and on budget.  That’s how we help our clients succeed. Visit us at: https://www.generalpapergoods.com.