Label low- and no-calorie sweeteners, says sugar group
The Sugar Association, which describes itself as "the scientific voice of the U.S. sugar industry," petitioned the FDA on Wednesday to require clearer labeling of foods that contain alternative low- and no-calorie sweeteners. The FDA has six months to respond to the petition.
FDA eases nutrition labeling rules for restaurants clearing inventory
To facilitate the distribution of food during the coronavirus pandemic, restaurants and food manufacturers will be temporarily allowed to sell packages of food that lack the Nutrition Facts label normally required for retail sale, said the FDA on Thursday. (No paywall)
Under criticism, FDA changes plan on honey and syrup labeling
It won’t be official for months, but FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb outlined on Thursday a solution to a food-labeling issue that had honey producers buzzing and had tapped the ire of the maple syrup industry.
FDA to reconsider labeling rule for honey and maple syrup
Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree said the FDA will take a second look at how it will identify pure honey and maple syrup on the updated Nutrition Facts label.
In GMO-labeling plan, USDA wants to let it BE
Food makers would be allowed to use a circular logo with the initials “BE” to identify foods made with GMO ingredients under a labeling rule proposed by the USDA.
FDA delay of Nutrition Facts update is too long, says key senator
The Democratic leader on the Senate Health Committee wrote FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb to complain of an unreasonable delay in updating the Nutrition Facts label that appears on every package of food.
FDA delays Nutrition Facts update until 2020 to accommodate foodmakers
The FDA plans to delay the debut of the updated Nutrition Facts label to Jan. 1, 2020, some 43 months after the Obama administration unveiled the first overhaul of the label in 20 years. The agency said it acted "in response to the continued concern that companies and trade associations have shared with us regarding the time needed for implementation of the final rules."
Jacobson to step down after 44 years at CSPI
After 44 years as president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael Jacobson is stepping down. During his long tenure, Jacobson not only helped develop nutrition labels, he “has also had a hand in halting the marketing of many sugar-filled foods to children, reducing salt levels in packaged foods, and banning transfats,” says NPR.
The man who helped put Nutrition Facts on food changes roles
The director or co-director of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest for 45 years, Michael Jacobson, 73, will change jobs next September to become CSPI's chief scientist. Jacobson was active in campaigns to put the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods, to eliminate trans fats from processed foods and to force the government to set guidelines on salt in food.
Foodmakers say ‘not so fast’ to FDA call for less salt in food
The FDA called on foodmakers and restaurateurs to reduce sharply the amount of salt in their products to help Americans avoid high blood pressure and the risk of chronic illness. The food industry balked, saying it already has low-salt products on sale and that the science on healthy salt levels was not as clear as the government says.
Foodmakers have two years to switch to new Nutrition Facts label
The updated Nutrition Facts label "is going to make a real difference in providing families across the country the information they need to make healthy choices," said First Lady Michelle Obama. The new label, to be in full use by July 2018, prominently lists the number of calories in a serving, expands serving sizes in line with U.S. eating patterns, and for the first time shows how many grams of sugar are added to foods during processing.
House votes to delay menu-labeling provision in Obamacare
In "yet another fight over Obamacare," the House passed a bill "to weaken an Obama administration regulation to require nutrition information on restaurant menus," reports The Hill newspaper.
FDA proposes more Nutrition Facts details for added sugars
The government proposed that the Nutrition Facts label should say what percentage an item would provide of the recommended daily amount of added sugar to the diet.
FDA extends menu-labeling deadline to late 2016
The FDA said it would give restaurants an additional year, until Dec. 1, 2016, to comply with a requirement that they list calorie counts on menus and menu boards.
FDA sets three-year phase-out for trans fats in food
Foodmakers will have three years to phase out the use of partially hydrogenated oils, the primary source of artificial trans fats, said the Food and Drug Administration. The agency said "a thorough review of the scientific evidence" showed the materials should not be part of the diet. The agency tentatively ruled in 2013 that artificial trans fats should be banned. It said it finalized that determination after considering public comments on the issue.
House bill delays calorie counts on menus for two years
Restaurants would not have to put calorie counts on their menus until late 2017 under a bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee and cleared for floor action. The $143.9 billion USDA-FDA funding bill also delays for one year enforcement of a requirement in the 2014 farm law that farmers practice soil and water conservation in order to qualify for federally subsidized crop insurance.
Wheat yields fall in Oregon due to heat and dry weather
Harvest of soft white wheat is under way in northeastern Oregon and a grain merchandiser in Pendleton says yields are down 10 to 15 percent because of hot, dry weather, says Capital Press. “The overall quality of the crop is going to be fine, there’s just not going to be a lot of it,” Dan Steiner, senior grain merchandiser at Pendleton Grain Growers, told the newspaper.
Bitter battle over listing “added sugars” on food packages
Foodmakers are in "a lobbying frenzy" over the administration's proposal to have the Nutrition Facts label on food packages include how much sugar was added during processing, reports the Los Angeles Times.