The Food and Drug Administration decided foodmakers need more time to put the updated Nutrition Facts label on their packages beyond the July 28, 2018, deadline set two years ago. The new deadline will be announced later, said the agency, to the applause of the food industry and the dismay of consumer groups.
“The framework for the extension will be guided by the desire to give industry more time and decrease costs, balanced with the importance of minimizing the transition period during which consumers will see both the old and the new versions of the label in the marketplace. The FDA will provide details of the extension through a Federal Register Notice at a later time,” said the agency on its Nutrition Facts web page.
In May 2016, the FDA announced the new Nutrition Facts label, the first overhaul of the label in 20 years. The new iteration requires food companies to list how much sugar is added during processing, updates serving sizes, and says that calories, serving size and servings per container must be in larger print.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association said FDA has yet to provide guidance on added sugars and dietary fiber, which appear on the new label. It would be virtually impossible, said the trade group, to meet the July 2018 compliance date without the material so the extension “is both reasonable and practical.
“As with its delay of menu labeling, the FDA will end up denying consumers critical information they need to make healthy food choices in a timely manner and will throw the industry into disarray,” said the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “In fact, many companies recognize consumers want this information (and) are already moving to put the updated label on their packages.”
The FDA web page on the Nutrition Facts overhaul is available here. The yet-to-be-determined extension appears under the heading, “Compliance Date.”