Nutrition Label Update: Requirements and Regulations for Package Printing

Enhancing Graphics

In the before-mentioned FLEXO Tech Talk, sgsco and Prime Label Consultants offered some great advice and examples of how best to approach adopting this change, and who should participate in such discussions.

As I suggested back in the September 2014 issue of FLEXO with part one of this article, try to take a positive approach. Look at the glass as half full and embrace these changes as “opportunities!” This opens the door for giving your graphics a little facelift. Our consumers are getting smarter and are eager for information, wanting more transparency in understanding what is in their food and where it is coming from. You can accomplish this with the nutritional panel, but how else might you be able to enhance your product’s graphics?

To be honest, I am one of those eager-to-know consumers. I certainly look to the graphics on the face of the package to grab my attention (especially claims regarding health benefits), but before it goes into my cart, I scan the nutritional panel and ingredients list to see if the claims correlate. I have always felt the nutritional panel was a little challenging to interpret and a bit tricky, since the serving size forced me to calculate alternate values based on how my family was likely to consume that good.

So, I am very happy to see the changes that are being implemented. Besides the obvious fresh look and design, these updates incorporate a greater understanding of nutrition science and updated serving size requirements to better reflect how we eat today and more realistic serving size specifications—all in an effort to make the label and information within it a more valuable tool for consumers to correlate to health risks like obesity, high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.

Per a January 2017 release by the American Heart Association (AHA):

• Cardiovascular disease is the underlying cause in about one out of three deaths in the U.S.
• Heart disease is a result of about one out of seven deaths in the U.S.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death attributed to cardiovascular disease at 45.1 percent, closely followed by stroke at 16.5 percent

Highlighting Differences in the Nutrition Label Update

As you can see in Figure 2, the nutritional label update brings some crucial and meaningful changes:

• Parts of the label, such as calories, servings per container and serving size, are now more pronounced
• Daily values for nutrients are based on updated scientific information to better guide consumers to not exceed consumption levels
• Some information, like added sugars, has been added, while other information, like calories from fat, has been removed
• The list of nutrients required will now also include vitamin D and potassium. Vitamins A and C are no longer required, but are permitted. Calcium and iron will continue to be required. Additionally, the actual amounts for these nutrients must be declared in addition to Percent Daily Value (PDV)
• The label’s footnote has changed to more clearly state what is meant by PDV
• Serving sizes more accurately reflect a true serving size, based on today’s standards of what people actually consume—versus what they “should” consume (see Figure 3)
• The serving size will also better reflect the package size to minimize confusion. For packages that are not meant to be a single serving, but could be consumed this way, a dual-column nutritional panel will be required (as seen in Figure 1)

How to Ensure Compliance with the Nutrition Label Update

Food and drug labeling requirements come from and are governed by a variety of sources, most notably the FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and GS1. While CPCs are, in general, the most well-versed and equipped to ensure a product meets these labeling requirements, it is important each member in the supply chain does its part to help ensure compliance before anything ends up on a shelf. I expect most CPCs are armed with a team of individuals that keep up with these regulatory sources and determine when and how a label or package is to be updated.

As a prepress provider, though, you can help establish your relevance as the CPC’s supplier if you have check points built into your process to ensure you are following the latest rules and employ the current formats. Ultimately, it is beneficial for all parties (CPC, designer, prepress provider and printer) to work together on the nutrition label update, as non-compliance can lead to stiff penalties and costly disruptions to supply chains when not followed correctly.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Catherine Haynes” link=”https://www.teamflexo.com” color=”#ffff00″ class=”” size=””]We are no longer at a point where the nutrition label update can be put off. This is a governmental requirement that cannot be ignored and it will likely cause bottlenecks in the supply chain.[/perfectpullquote]

While the focus of this article is nutritional panel information, this would apply to other packaging requirements as well. Some specifications are general, while others are very specific, and there are rules that apply to all aspects of the label or package to include font sizes, product identification, manufacturer information, quantity information, where art (or nonessential material) is not allowed, food additives and ingredients, food allergens, nutritional information, bar codes and warning statements.

Key software solutions for regulatory compliance include preflight tools and dynamic tools for elements like bar codes and nutritional information.

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