Situation

Food manufacturers are required by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prepare labels for their products. Previously, they were restricted to expensive, complicated and time-consuming options such as laboratories, CDs and third-party consultants. Until 2006, WholeSoy & Co. sent food samples to a laboratory for analysis and then waited a few weeks for the nutrition findings. Founder and CEO Ted Nordquist considered laboratory analysis to be unreliable since results often differed among samples of the same product. Also, in one case, the laboratory identified nine grams of fat and four grams of protein in a soy yogurt sample – a physical impossibility since soybean extract always has a protein-to-oil ratio of 2:1. He was also frustrated by the difficulty and high price of new product development, since he was compelled to estimate desired nutrient values and actually manufacture the new product for the laboratory to analyze. This was a long, complex and costly process. Nordquist decided to try LabelCalc, the only online nutrition analysis tool that instantly generates precise, up-to-date FDA-compliant nutrition facts panels. He is delighted with the outcome.

Accuracy, Reliability, and Flexibility in New Product Development

“LabelCalc allows us an enormous amount of flexibility and creativity with new product development,” said Nordquist. “We enter all our ingredient values into the program, fine-tune recipe formulations and view final nutritional results – all on the computer! This is extremely valuable because it prevents a lot of wasted resources – we can create new offerings online before actually putting dollars into manufacturing.”

Nordquist now uses a laboratory solely to confirm LabelCalc’s findings. “My experience is that LabelCalc is extremely accurate and reliable – far more so than laboratories, whose results frequently vary widely from sample to sample,” he said. “That’s extremely important to us since we always have to assume that a customer or the FDA could potentially test our product for nutritional accuracy.”

LabelCalc has also helped WholeSoy to standardize formulas, according to Nordquist. “It’s given me a tool that I can take to our production facilities to show them exactly what our targets are for protein, fat, calories, etc.,” he noted.

Crisis Control and Specialized Services

LabelCalc prides itself on offering the most knowledgeable and personalized customer service in the food industry. Nordquist says he appreciates all the company’s help through a recent crisis, when a leading national grocery retailer discovered an error in the nutritional data on the labels of WholeSoy’s private label brand of raspberry soy yogurt. There was a discrepancy between the ratio of calories per gram of fat-carbohydrates-protein (9-4-4) and total calories.

Since it is impossible for a precise tool like LabelCalc to generate false results if ingredient values are exact, lead registered dietitian Alyson Mar knew there had to be a miscalculation in the inputted data. After a detailed investigation, she identified a difference of 33.25 calories in nutritional value for the raspberry fruit preparation provided by an ingredient supplier. 

“LabelCalc helped us to solve a difficult problem, and we are very happy with the service and attention we received,” stated Nordquist. “As the leading producer of non-dairy yogurt in the U.S., we want to make sure that our customers can trust our nutrition facts.”

In addition, LabelCalc delivers extraordinary value with an expert team of FDA regulations specialists and registered dietitians that offers insights on compliance laws, industry issues and emerging trends. While laboratories can charge up to $500 for each individual query, the company provides this crucial service free to clients. Furthermore, Mar authors a popular monthly newsletter that spotlights food trends and hot topics.

Ease-Of-Use and Convenience