The FDA is changing its requirements for nutrition facts labeling in packaged foods. The changes include increasing the type size of “Calories”, “servings per container” and the “Serving size” declarations. They’ve also added the requirement to declare amounts for vitamin D, iron, potassium, calcium and “added sugars”. Vitamins A and C will no longer be required. An example of the new label design is below.
The FDA initially called for the changes to be implemented by July of 2018. Then they announced an extension to a new deadline that would be announced at a later date. That new deadline for the changes is now officially January 1st, 2020 for manufacturers with sales over $10 million per year. For manufacturers with with sales less than $10 million annually, the new deadline is January 1st, 2021.
But don’t let all that time fool you into thinking you can wait before revising your products’ packaging. The time to act is now, and the reasons are numerous. First, you will likely need to get your products analyzed to ascertain the amounts of the new nutrients that are required. The labs are going to start getting busier and they will soon be at or near capacity. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get into the lab’s queue.
Another reason for acting now is that you’ll have to revise your packaging and labeling, and reprint it. You need to plan this so you can phase in your new packaging raw materials inventory as you gradually use up your old inventory. Fail to do this now and you will end up scrapping your packaging inventory when the deadline arrives.
But don’t let this distract you from your company’s mission. We’re here to help. As experts in packaging design for natural products, we’ve literally designed hundreds of packages with nutrition facts labels. Contact us now to help you get started on putting your packaging in compliance with the new regulations.
Bentley Brands is a brand communications firm that helps clients in the natural products category grow their brands through unique, effective and highly personalized services.
A comparison of old and new nutrition facts labels