Sweeping Changes in Food Labeling to Be Unveiled

The federal government is expected to announce major changes in food labeling today to give consumers uniform information about serving sizes and to define exactly what is meant by terms such as “fresh,” “light,” “low-fat” and “cholesterol free.”

The new proposals also will spell out which products can be labeled with specific disease-fighting health claims involving such conditions as cancer, hypertension, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Considered by many to be the most significant revisions in food labeling in 50 years, the proposed regulations address growing pressure to impose more uniformity on food marketing practices. The reform movement has been fueled by increasing consumer interest in eating healthier foods and by new scientific evidence linking diet with illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.

“Consumers are hungry for information they can trust and understand,” David A. Kessler, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said in an interview. “The new labels will deliver on both counts.”

The package of proposed regulations, to be released jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, expand a labeling overhaul effort initiated in 1990 by the FDA, which is a part of HHS.

After the FDA issued an initial set of proposals that addressed ingredient labeling, Congress approved a sweeping nutrition-labeling measure that required the process to be accelerated. Today’s proposals were developed in response to the new law.

The draft regulations will be subject to public review and possible revision. They are not scheduled to take full effect until May, 1993. But the FDA expects that products bearing some of the new information are likely to be seen on store shelves within three months as manufacturers start revising labels voluntarily in anticipation of the new rules.

The FDA has estimated the entire cost of its labeling reform program at $1.6 billion over 20 years, or about $1.50 per household per year, but predicted that the benefits to the public health would “well exceed the costs.” The agency estimated that 17,000 food processors and 257,000 specific labels would be affected.

The intent of the new rules is to set clear standards that will eliminate current ambiguities about the meaning of promotional terms placed on labels by food makers eager to appeal to the public’s growing interest in healthy food.

“What manufacturers must understand more clearly than they have in the past is that the words they use to increase market share are the very same words American consumers use in making decisions that affect their health,” Kessler said. “There is no place for marketing gimmicks on the food label. The din of mixed messages in the nation’s supermarkets will cease.”

The reaction from food industry officials was mixed. C. Manley Molpus, president of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, which represents more than 130 companies that make 85% of the nation’s food products, called the proposals “an important first step.” But he complained that key provisions would need “major revision” before becoming final.

In effect, the new regulations will establish a consistent base line for entire categories of products. Currently, for example, the fat content of one “low-fat” yogurt could vary considerably from another “low-fat” brand. The discrepancy reflects the fact that food companies are free to determine the size of a single serving and the units of measure.

The proposals provide for consistent serving sizes across product lines based on a “reference amount,” defined as the typical portion consumed by an average person over the age of 4. These sizes will be converted to the nearest common household measure so they will be more understandable to consumers.

For example, the average consumer eats 55 grams of bread in a single serving, so 55 grams will be the “reference amount” for a single serving of bread, Kessler said.

“If a manufacturer cuts his bread very thin--and two slices equals 55 grams--then the company will have to list its single-serving size as two slices,” Kessler said. “If one slice weighs 55 grams, then the label will say that one slice is the single-serving size. The label won’t say 55 grams--it will say the number of slices.”

The distinction is important because nutritional data and other label contents will be based on single servings and consumers for the first time can evaluate information that is consistent across the board, he said.

“If you don’t have a consistent serving size, the claims--’low fat,’ ‘low sodium’--don’t have any meaning,” Kessler said. “That’s why consistent serving sizes are important. Now, when a product says ‘low fat,’ it will mean only one thing.”

The new regulations also provide specific definitions for each descriptive term. For example, a food must contain less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving--and have no added ingredients containing fat or oil--to call itself “fat free.” It must have 3 grams or less per serving and per 100 grams of food to be listed as “low fat.”

The term “light” may be used only to describe foods containing one-third fewer calories than the comparable standardized product. “Fresh” may only appear on raw food or food that has not been frozen, processed or preserved.

“Low sodium” generally would mean less than 140 milligrams of salt per serving. “Low calorie” could be used on foods containing fewer than 40 calories per serving. “Low in saturated fat” may be used to describe a food that contains 1 gram or less of saturated fat per serving and not more than 15% of calories from saturated fat.

A product can describe itself as “cholesterol free” only when it contains less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving. “Low in cholesterol” would mean the product has 20 milligrams or less per serving and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.

All claims involving low cholesterol would be prohibited when a food contains more than 2 grams of saturated fat per serving. The label of a food containing more than 11.5 grams of total fat per serving must disclose that information immediately after any cholesterol claim. While many foods, including all non-animal products, are cholesterol free, they nevertheless can contain fats, especially saturated fats, which are turned into cholesterol by the body.

“If a product is inherently free of cholesterol, the manufacturer has to state that this whole group of foods is inherently free of cholesterol,” Kessler said. “You can’t say this brand of macaroni is cholesterol free--because all macaroni is cholesterol free.”

The regulations would allow only four kinds of claims to be made on food labels to describe the relationship between food products and specific health conditions: calcium and osteoporosis, sodium and hypertension, fat and cancer, and fat and heart disease. It has been established scientifically that calcium intake reduces the risk of osteoporosis--or brittle bones--and that a low-fat diet lessens the risk of cancer and heart disease. Also, it is known that a high-sodium diet increases the dangers associated with high blood pressure.

The FDA said it would continue to investigate data regarding the relationship between fiber and heart disease, and fiber and cancer, before deciding whether to allow such health claims to be made on food labels.

It was not clear Tuesday what proposals will be forthcoming from the Department of Agriculture, which has separate jurisdiction over fresh meat, poultry and certain packaged foods containing meat and poultry. Such products are not covered by the new law, but the department is expected to generally follow the FDA’s proposals.

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles), author of the legislation, called the proposals “a landmark” that would result in “truthful and useful information that will give consumers the ability to improve their diets and the quality of their lives.”

The law does not prevent individual states from adopting additional stringent requirements, such as California’s Proposition 65, which requires firms to provide warnings on foods and other products that expose the public to cancer-causing substances.

What the Labels Mean

The Food and Drug Administration’s new “dictionary” of approved food label terminology:

Calorie Free: Less than 5 calories per serving.

Sugar Free: Less than 0.5 grams per serving.

Sodium Free or Salt Free: Less than 5 milligrams per serving.

Low Sodium: Less than 140 milligrams per serving.

Very Low Sodium: Less than 35 milligrams per serving.

Low Calorie: Less than 40 calories per serving.

Light: Foods that contain one-third fewer calories than a comparable product.

Fat Free: Less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

Low Fat: 3 grams or less of fat per serving.

Reduced Fat: No more than half the fat of an identified comparison product.

Low in Saturated Fat: Less than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving and not more than 15% of calories from saturated fat.

Cholesterol Free: Less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.

Low in Cholesterol: 20 milligrams or less per serving and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.

Reduced Cholesterol: 50% or less of cholesterol per serving than comparison food.

Fresh: Raw food or food that has not been frozen, processed or preserved.

Freshly: In combination with prepared , baked or roasted , food that is recently made and not frozen or heat processed or preserved.

Source: Food and Drug Administration