Food and nutrition.pdf

Diet and Health 35Food Labeling LegislationThe Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1989, was the main foodlabeling bill in the 10Ist Congress. The House passed it and the Senatepassed the same bill with some minor amendments.The legislation includes the follo~ing:-• Mandatory labeling is required for most foods under thejurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration but not thosecovered by the US Department of Agriculture (Le.. meat andpoultry). The label would include:Serving size, in standard, common household measuresNumber of servings per containerTotal caloriesTotal fat, saturated fatCholesterolSodiumTotal carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, and sugarTotal protein, andDietary fibre.• The Secretary of Health and Human Services must providevoluntary nutrition guidelines for fruits, vegetables and raw fish.The guidelines will apply to 20 varieties of vegetables, fruit andraw fish most frequently consumed during a year, and thesecretary will decide which foods will come under thisrequirement.• There are exemptions for foods sold in restaurants, infantformula, foods with insignificant amounts of the nutrientsrequired to be listed on the label, such as spices, and some otherminor exemptions.• It also addresses the issue of claims that may be made aboutthe nutrients in the food. First, content claims, such as "lowsalt", or "light" would have to be consistent with terms definedby the Secretary. Second, there would be a process for the orderlyregulation of disease claims such as "fibre. prevents cancer". FDAwould review the scientific evidence and decide whether a claimis valid. A disease claim may not be made unless it is consistentwith a final regulation issued by the FDA. Also, a claim maynot be made if it is misleading in light of the level of anothernutrient in the food; it must be based on the totality of scientificevidence on which there is significant scientific agreement.• The Secretary will establish a system that evaluates the validityof health claims for dietary supplements.