food chapter 16

what is required/regulated on a food label

Name of the Food

Net Quantity of Contents

Ingredients List

Nutrition Labeling

Health Claims (optional)

Food safety issues can arise when food is

improperly identified, nutrients are present in lower/higher amounts than indicated, items are missing from ingredients lists, or false health claims are stated.

what brand is one of the few that has a truthful statement on the box

cheerios

“may reduce your cholesterol” if you replace breakfast with eggs, bacon, etc

Labeling is an important tool for ____ and a vital resource for the consumer to prevent ____.  However, the role of labels in nutrition is beyond the scope of this course.

nutrition; chronic health conditions

Food labeling is required for the following:

Breads, Cereals, Canned foods, Frozen foods, Snacks, Desserts, Drinks, Etc.

Labeling for the following is voluntary:

Raw fruits, Raw vegetables, Fish

The only label which guarantees organic is

USDA Organic

Food Labeling Regulatory Agencies

FDA: Most packaged foods

Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics Act (FD&C).

FSIS (USDA): Meat, poultry, some eggs

Federal Meat Inspection Act

Poultry Products Inspection Act

Egg Product Inspection Act

The ___ is responsible for ensuring that foods produced domestically and imported are properly labeled. 

FDA

The FDA enforces laws set out in the following two acts

Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C)

Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA)

The food section of the FD&C includes a broad range of regulations aimed at ensuring that foods are:

Safe, Pure, Wholesome, Produced under sanitary conditions.

we are going to address the following in regard to the FD&C

Misbranded foods, Adulterated foods, Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (this is an amendment to the FD&C)

Due to unsanitary conditions at ___, 33 people lost their lives

Jensen Farms

listeria outbreak from cantaloupe

one of the deadliest foodborne illnesses in the history of the U.S.

147 people infected

There are several provisions of the FPLA (most of which are enforced by the FTC but for the purposes of this class, the most important is the following:

Requires identification of food (Prevents consumer deception with respect to identification of ingredients)

A product claims to include 100% honey.  If other ingredients such as water are added, this would be a violation of the

FPLA

Refers to falsely or misleadingly packaged or labeled food:

Incomplete/missing ingredients list, Fails to list major allergens, Fails to list common name of product, False micronutrient composition, Fails to list potentially dangerous contents, Fails to list food additives, False nutrition claims, Etc.

Most FDA recalls are the result of_____.  These are considered misbranded foods.

undeclared (labeled) allergens

The food producer at left was given a warning from FDA that their product is considered misbranded for the following violations:

Major allergens not listed on label, Label does not contain a list of all of the ingredients in the product.

•Misbranding violations for this producer included:

No nutrition labels, No common or usual food names, No place of business listed for manufacturer, packer, or distributor, No net quantity, Etc.

In this letter the producer was warned about making false statements regarding the nutrient content of their foods:

The FDA laboratory easily determined the listed Vitamin C content was wrong, Incidentally, the FDA had already warned this company about false claims for iron content in another food

In this case the FDA has issued a warning label because the company used the wording “Fresh-packed” on their products.

The products are in fact thermally processed.

In this case the producer failed to label the product PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE:

This product contains aspartame, composed of phenylalanine.

PKU (Phenylketonuria) is a rare condition in which

a person is born without the ability to breakdown the amino acid phenylalanine.

One of the diseases for which babies are screened immediately after birth.

If products containing phenylalanine are not avoided, _____ will occur.

The label must always appear in a ___ than the surrounding text, all capitals, bold type.

brain damage; larger font

The deliberate addition of inferior or cheaper material to a food product, usually for profit gains.

Adulterated Foods

Addition of prohibited substances, Substituting a cheaper product

Many foods are susceptible to adulteration.

In a case the UK equivalent to the FDA (known as the Food Standards Agency) was investigating adulterated _____

saffron (highest price of any spice)

“red gold”

____ was adulterated by adding water and the chemical melamine.

milk

Melamine can fool standardized test used for protein content.

Several infants lost their lives, Several thousand infants were hospitalized.

This warning letter was sent to indicate this food was adulterated due to the addition of folic acid.

Food additive regulations for folic acid do not allow its use in snack foods.

This letter includes several issues of misbranding but it is included to illustrate the particular case of adulteration.

Addition of color additives not licensed for use in foods.

Recall that FD&C allows very few colors to be added to foods.

This food is adulterated because it is labeled abalone, but is in fact a different sea snail.

Because the label is falsified, it is also considered misbranded.

And all ingredients are not listed, And because the labels are in two different languages but they do not match

Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

This amendment to the FD&C was added to help consumers avoid exposure to the eight leading causes of food allergies:

Milk, Egg, Fish, Crustacean Shellfish, Tree nuts, Wheat, Peanuts, Soybeans, Sesame?

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act defines a major food allergen as:

One of the 5 foods listed, One of the 3 food groups listed (Fish, shellfish, and tree nuts are food groups)

Any ingredient which contains proteins from one of the 8 foods.

Any food that contains an undeclared major allergen is misbranded under the ____

FD&C

Failure to list food allergens is the leading cause of food recalls.

Could potentially be fatal.

_____ are the most frequently recalled type of food.

_____ is the most common undeclared allergen.

Bakery products; milk

examples of some foods requiring labels

Tree nuts: Almond, Beech nut, Brazil nut, Butternut, Cashew, Chestnut, Chinquapin, Coconut, Hazelnut, Ginko nut, Hickory nut, Lichee nut, Macademia nut, Pecan, Pine nut, Pili nut, Pistachio, Sheanut, Walnut

Crustacean Shellfish: crab, lobster, shrimp

Wheat: Common wheat, Durum wheat, Club wheat, Spelt, Semolina, Einkorn, Emmer, Kamut, Triticale

Allergies are regulated (wheat must be labeled) but _____ are not (gluten does not have to be labeled but the label gluten-free is permitted).

sensitivities

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

Enforces various laws regarding marketing practices for foods.

Enforces various laws regarding advertising of foods.

Many people have expressed concerns regarding the marketing of sugar and fast foods to children.

FTC ruling can involve misleading claims on foods. Often, the foods claim to have health benefits not supported by any data or testing done on that food.

This is a relatively new field known as nutri- or nutraceuticals (foods with health benefits)

False claims keep the FTC very busy

FTC charges ____ with falsely advertising its good start gentle formula protects infants from developing allergies

Gerber

False claim examples

FTC commissioners uphold trial judge decision that POM Wonderful, LLC; Stewart and Lynda Resnick; Others making unsupported health claims

FTC charges second “Affiliate Network” of internet advertisers with deceiving consumers by using fake news sites to market acai berry weight-loss products and colon cleaners (defendants will pay $1 million to settle charges)

Dannon agrees to drop exaggerated health claims for activia yogurt and DanActive dairy drink (FTC charges that evidence supporting benefits of probiotics falls short)

FTC investigation of ad claims that rice Krispies benefits children’s immunity leads to stronger order against

USDA regulations require an ____ on all federally inspected meat and poultry product containers.

inspection legend

The product will be declared misbranded if the legend is missing.

Packaged products that require special handling to maintain their wholesome condition must have prominently displayed the applicable handling statement:

“Keep Refrigerated”, “Keep Frozen”, “Perishable – Keep Refrigerated or Frozen”, Etc.

Safe handling instructions are required for the following:

Raw meat and poultry, Partially cooked meat and poultry, Eggs

“This product was prepared from inspected and passed meat and or poultry. Some food products may contain bacteria that could cause illness if the product is mishandled or cooked improperly. For your protection, follow these safe handling instructions.”

Food establishments that sell or serve raw or undercooked animal foods or ingredients must inform customers about the increased risk associated with eating these foods:

Meat, Eggs, Seafood

Signs on doors and reminders on menus are also used.

Items should also be described fully in menu.

Product dating labels are not required by Federal regulations with the exception of ____

infant formula

However, calendar dates (known as open dating) often appear on foods.

There is no uniform or universally accepted system for dating foods in the United States.

If a calendar date is used, there must be a phrase immediately adjacent explaining the meaning of that date.

Phrases used on calendar date:

Use by, Best before, Sell by, Enjoy by, Born on, Discard by, Expired, Best by, Packed on, Best if used by, Safe if used by, Pull date, Etc.

There is no standard use for any of these terms but the following tend to be defined:

Sell-by = this date tells the store how long to display the product for sale.

Best if used by (or before) = recommended for best flavor or quality.

Use-by = last date recommended for peak quality.

IMPORTANT:  NONE OF THESE DATES HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE SAFETY OF THE FOOD! 

Federal regulations require a _____ date on the product label of infant formula under FDA inspection.

“use-by”

This date is the last date at which the formula contains the exact nutrients listed on the label.

Note: nutrient content of many foods drops over time, and this can be deadly to an infant.

The federal government does not regulate product dating labels but many states have chosen to enforce some dates.

–Not consistent state to state.

•Florida requires dates on dairy and shellfish: Cannot sell after date has passed.

The USDA and FDA do have it within their authority to declare the current dating system “misbranding” and enforce dates.

Legislation has attempted to address this issue and failed.

It is a critical issue because nearly 40% of foods are discarded due to these dates even though they are perfectly safe for consumption.

Many of the things you see are food labels that have nothing to do with food safety and nutrition.

Some labels are used to mislead the consumer who believes they are making a healthy choice, including:

Natural, Local, Fresh, Supports a healthy immune system

None of the above phrases are regulated by the food industry.  In other words, legally, all of these phrases could appear on a bottle of soda.