Welcome to 2022 – The Year of Compliance! After an extended grace period due to COVID-19, the FDA is reinforcing its regulations for 2022 and beyond. It will be of utmost importance this year to make sure your product nutrition labels are up to date for compliance. Continue reading to Find out what you need to include on your food label to be FDA compliant. FYI: LabelCalc software is fully updated and ready to convert your labels to FDA standards. It’s out with the old and in the new around here!
Wondering what needs to be on the nutrition label for 2022? Keep reading!
A Little Bit Louder Now
Big and bold, honey! Serving size is required to be bolded and in a larger font size. Calories need to be the largest font size on the label. As a result, consumers will have a better understanding of caloric value of the food they are consuming in order to make informed decisions.
New Nutrients on the Block for the FDA Food Label
Declaration of Added Sugars has been added as a required nutrient to the new FDA food labels. The Daily Value for added sugars is 50 grams per day based on a 2,000 calorie diet as set forth by the FDA. Rounding rules for added sugar must be accounted for on the food label (don’t worry, we take care of this too!)
Additionally, Vitamin D and Potassium have replaced Vitamin C and Vitamin A as required vitamins/minerals on the updated FDA food labels. Actual amounts must be declared for each. Why? The American population does quite well at getting enough vitamin C and A each day. We are generally not great at meeting our needs for Vitamin D and Potassium, which is why they have been added to the new FDA food labels.
Bye Bye to Calories from Fat
‘Calories from fat’ is no longer an available field on the new FDA nutrition labels. Research has shown that the type of fat that is consumed is more important than the amount. The breakdown of total fat, trans fat, and saturated fat is still included.
Daily Value and Footnote Updates
Daily Values for sodium, dietary fiber, and Vitamin D have been updated on the new FDA food labels to reflect modern research. The footnote on the nutrition label now better explains what daily value is.
Getting Honest About Serving Size
Serving size is the standard amount of food generally consumed in a single instance. Serving size should be the amount of food that people typically eat at one time, not the amount they should eat. Each type of food has a recommended serving size regulated by the FDA. The FDA has updated some of these serving sizes to be more reflective of what people usually eat in a single sitting. For example, ice cream used to have a referenced serving size of 1/2 cup. This has now been updated to 2/3 cup.
FYI: LabelCalc has 2 serving size assistance tools to help you determine the FDA recommended serving size for your product!
So, you wanna know how to update your nutrition label? LabelCalc’s online nutrition database will help you get FDA compliant food labels in 45 minutes or less in a simple 4 step process. Check out our FDA food labeling guide here. Email our nutrition team to learn more.
