Meet Compliance for New Nutrition Facts Label Requirements in 2020

Medallion Labs has had a busy 2019, helping food and beverage manufacturers ensure compliance for the new Nutrition Facts labeling requirements in 2020. Now that the 2020 compliance standards have arrived, we are reminding clients that we offer nutritional testing services—including rush testing services—to meet your needs.

Changes to the New Nutrition Facts Label Requirements in 2020

The changes to the new Nutrition Facts label requirements in 2020 will make it easier for consumers to make informed choices about foods or beverages, including increasing the type size for calories, servings per container, serving size, and percent daily value (% DV) of a nutrient based on a diet of 2,000 calories per day.

Food and beverage manufacturers must declare the actual amount, in addition to percent daily value of vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium; and for other vitamins and minerals, they may voluntarily declare the gram amount.

Added sugars must be listed in grams and as percent daily value on the new label. Added sugars are a label requirement in 2020 because, according to FDA, consumers get more than 10 percent of their total daily calories from added sugar making it difficult for them to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits.

Vitamin D and potassium will be required on the new label, along with calcium and iron. Vitamins A and C are not required but may be voluntarily included.

Total fat, saturated fat, and trans fat are required on the label, but not calories from fat. This has been removed because scientific research indicates that the type of fat is more important than the amount.

Daily values for nutrients like sodium, dietary fiber, and vitamin D have been updated based on newer scientific evidence. Daily values are reference amounts of nutrients to consume or not to exceed and are used to calculate the percent daily value that food and beverage manufacturers must include on the label. This information helps consumers understand the nutrition information in the context of their total daily diet.

The definition of a single serving has been updated to reflect a more realistic portion of how much people typically eat in one sitting.

Updated Serving Size Information with Dual-Column Labels

By law, serving sizes must be based on the realistic consumption amounts of food and beverages, not the amounts that consumers should ideally be eating or drinking.

In 2020, for products that are larger than a single serving but could be consumed in one sitting or in multiple sittings, food and beverage manufacturers will have to provide dual-column labels.

Ice cream pints and soda pop bottles are good examples of products requiring dual-column labels.

These dual-column labels will help consumers more easily understand how many calories and nutrients they are getting if they eat or drink the entire package/unit at one time.

How FDA Determines Compliance Dates for New Nutrition Facts Label Requirements in 2020

Your compliance date is based on your food or beverage company’s annual sales.

FDA final rule provided two compliance dates distinguishing between manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual food sales (January 1, 2020) and manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales (January 1, 2021).

Manufacturers of single-ingredient sugars (honey and maple syrup) and some cranberry products have until July 1, 2021, to make the changes; while manufacturers of some flavored, dried cranberries have until July 1, 2020.

FDA to Delay Compliance Enforcement for the First Six Months of 2020

On September 30, 2019, FDA received a letter of request to delay compliance enforcement regarding the new Nutrition Facts label requirements from these food and beverage associations:

• American Bakers Association
• American Frozen Food Institute
• American Herbal Products Association
• Corn Refiners Association
• Council for Responsible Nutrition
• Food Marketing Institute
• Independent Bakers Association
• International Dairy Foods Association
• National Automatic Merchandising Association
• National Confectioners Association
• National Grocers Association
• SNAC International

As a result, FDA plans to work cooperatively with food and beverage manufacturers to meet the new Nutrition Facts label requirements by delaying enforcement actions during the first six months of 2020.

Rush Testing Services from Medallion Labs for New Nutrition Facts Label Requirements

Medallion Labs can help you meet the deadline for regulatory compliance for nutritional labeling with our full range of nutritional testing services.

Our 2020 Nutritional (NLEA) Screen includes the tests listed below, along with links to the Technical Data Sheets with information about each test.