What Do You Need to Know About FDA Labeling for Food Products?

The FDA in the USA regulates most of the packaged foods sold within the USA and has specific requirements for the elements that custom food packaging must contain. To sell your food products whether it’s online or physical, you must comply with FDA’s rules and regulations.

As a food business owner, you must have a complete idea about FDA labeling for the packaging of different food items. Not only will it help you comply with FDA regulations but also you can go with your food packaging in the best possible way.

In this blog post, we are going to share with you the FDA labeling requirements for food products. Keep reading!

What is FDA Labeling for Food Items?

FDA stands for Food and Drug Administration and it plays an important role in maintaining food safety. The FDA evaluates the chemicals used in different food products and monitors the overall food supply. Also, they ensure that food is properly labeled to protect the public health.

Proper food labeling is essential for customer information and safety. Labels can help you provide your customers with a complete list of ingredients which can help customers to know about which ingredients are used based on their health requirements.

Essential Elements of FDA Food Labeling

Food Labeling Regulation:

The Food Drug & Cosmetic Act (1938) promotes public health and safety by addressing how products are being manufactured, tested, and packed. Various types of food products require proper food labeling like dietary supplements, drug items, medicines, and tobacco products.

Other than FD&C, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (1990) gave the FDA the authority to require nutrition labels on most foods it regulates. Nutrition facts on food products help customers follow dietary guidelines.

Required Label Information:

The following are the essential elements of a food label that require complete label information:

• Food Name
• Net quantity
• List of ingredients
• Manufacturer information
• Allergen labeling requirements

Understanding Specific Labeling Requirements

1. Nutrient Content Claims & Health Messages:

On food packaging, health messages, and nutrition content claims must be printed to help customers. In nutrition facts, you can print messages like low fat, describe the amount of nutrients in a product, and good source of calcium.

Other than nutrition content, you can print health messages like “may help reduce heart disease”. By printing such messages on food packaging, you can provide information to customers to help them make healthier choices instantly.

2. Food Allergens:

To protect people with different types of food allergies, the FDA regulates companies to list ingredients on packed food items. By listing ingredients on food packaging, it’s easy for customers to not go for products that include ingredients that they cannot use.

3. Date Labeling:

Date labeling is one of the important things that should be added to your food packaging. In this, you can include the manufacturing date and expiry date to let customers know when will product expires so they won’t buy if get expires. By printing date labeling on food item packaging, you can promote the health and safety of people.

4. Package Design & Labeling Claims:

Food packaging design and labeling claims can interact with labeling regulations. Before designing food packaging for any product, make sure that your packaging design and labeling should comply with FDA rules and regulations. Do not use any design or label that mismatches with FDA regulations.

5. Labeling for Special Dietary Needs:

Labeling requirements for foods marketed as organic, gluten-free, or vegan are different. Organic products must contain 100%, 95%, or 70% organic ingredients, excluding salt and water.

For gluten products, the FDA advised to use of “gluten-free” terms on food labels. Also, to be labeled as gluten-free, you must contain gluten less than 20 ppm including wheat & barley, etc.

To label vegan products as vegan, the product doesn’t contain ingredients of animal origin like milk, eggs, honey, and gelatin.

Final Thoughts!

FDA labeling is essential for making informed decisions about the food you manufacture, test, and pack. By understanding the required information on food labels, your customers can choose products that meet their dietary/ allergen needs and preferences. So next time when you want to design custom food packaging and labeling, take a moment to read the FDA labeling requirements and empower yourself to make healthy choices.