Nutrition Labeling – A Look at FDA’s Proposed Requirements

On Nov. 2, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to revise nutrition labeling requirements for foods and dietary supplements.

FDA requested public comments on which nutrients should be listed in Nutrition Facts and Supplement Facts labels, what new reference values should be used to determine percent daily values (DVs) and which factors should be considered in calculating DVs, as well as several specific issues regarding calories, fats, cholesterol, carbohydrate, prootein, dietary fibers, sugar alcohols, sodium, chloride, vitamins and minerals. FDA’s ANPR commences perhaps the most sweeping food labeling modification effort since 1993, when FDA issued the nutrition labeling rules mandated by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990.