Familiar with foreign nutrition labeling standards to reduce export risks

In recent years, with the development of the market economy and the increasing internationalization of commodity circulation, the content and form of food nutrition labels are playing an increasingly important role in conducting fair transactions, guiding and promoting consumption, protecting consumer rights and health .

Food Labeling Act in the United States

The United States is the country with the most rigorous and perfect food labeling regulations. Its food labeling system is in the leading position in the world. It is the development direction of food labeling regulations and is also a reference for all countries in the world to follow.

In May 1994, the United States introduced the Food Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, which requires mandatory labeling of all pre-packaged foods. In September 1995, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a formal decree to amend the chapter of the Federal Code for the strengthening of nutrition labels for foods, requiring the sale of fortified foods to be supplemented with nutrition labels. The revised regulations have made clear and specific provisions on the format, font size, and fine lines of strengthened food labels.

After the outbreak of mad cow disease and foot-and-mouth disease in Europe, the United States Department of Agriculture announced the rules of mandatory country-of-origin labeling projects in accordance with the requirements of the 2002 Agriculture Act. According to this rule, beef, lamb, pork cuts, ground beef, ground lamb, ground pork, raised fish and crustaceans, perishable agricultural products, and peanuts must be marked with their origin at retail. In 2003, the United States implemented a labeling system for organic foods. The foods approved by the United States Department of Agriculture and certified by specialized agencies with an organic level of 95% or more were affixed with the words "organic" and "United States Department of Agriculture" Green round mark. Foods with an organic level between 70% and 95% cannot be specially labeled, but the label can indicate that the product "contains organic ingredients".

Recently, because high cholesterol can affect human health, FAD has issued a new regulation requiring the labeling of the content of trans fatty acids (TFAS) in the nutrition labeling of traditional foods and dietary supplements. From January 1, 2006, the United States requires that the content of saturated fatty acids and trans fatty acids (TFAS) in products be marked in the nutrition labeling of food.

Provisions in nutrition information

In the United States, nutrition information is required for about 90% of processed foods. The following foods are excluded: usual coffee and tea; some spices, condiments, and other foods that do not have significant nutrient content; ready-to-eat foods prepared mainly on the spot, such as deli and bakery foods; restaurant foods; bulk foods that are not re-sold ; And food produced by small businesses. (According to the requirements of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, FDA defines small businesses as businesses with annual food sales of less than US $ 50,000 or total sales of less than US $ 500,000. The USDA Food Safety Inspection Service defines small businesses as 500 employees. Or below and the product output is below a certain limit.)

Foods in small packages (usually those that are no larger than confectionery or less than half an ounce [about 14 grams] of meat and poultry products) foods do not need to have nutrition information on their labels unless they make nutrition claims. However, FDA-regulated products must carry a phone number or address so that consumers can obtain the nutritional information they need.

Nutrition information is voluntary for many fresh foods: According to the FDA ’s voluntary shopping point nutrition information program, there are the 20 most commonly consumed fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish; according to the US Department of Agriculture ’s voluntary shopping point program, It includes 45 major meat and poultry segmentation products.

Although voluntary, projects on fresh produce, meat, fish, and poultry have strong incentives for retailers. The guidance states that if voluntary compliance is found to be insufficient, FDA and the US Department of Agriculture can take further action to make it mandatory.
On September 23, 1997, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a formal decree to amend the chapter of the "Foreign Regulations" to strengthen the nutrition labeling of foods, requiring that fortified foods sold should be supplemented with nutrition labels. FDA requires that most foods must indicate the content of at least 14 nutrients. The information on the nutrition label should include:
(1) The food unit uses words corresponding to the form of the food (such as blocks, capsules, bags or spoons);
(2) Number of copies per box (no need to re-note if indicated in the net content declaration);
(3) Information on dietary ingredients, such as daily reference intake (RDI) or daily reference consumption (DRV). According to relevant regulations, if the quality of RDI or DRV can be regarded as temporary, it may not be marked on the label. The revised regulations also make corresponding provisions on the format of strengthened food labels, such as:

(1) "Food unit" should be written on the left under the heading "Fortified Food"; "Parts per box" should be written on the left under the "Eating Unit".

(2) The names of ingredients with RDI and DRV and the contents expressed by mass should be marked under "per serving".

(3) The order of vitamins and minerals is vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, niacin, vitamin B6, folic acid, vitamin B12, biotin, calcium, iron, Phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, chloride, sodium, potassium.

(4) "calorie" should be indicated at the forefront of all names, separated by a thin line from "per serving". "Fat calories" or "saturated fat calories" should be marked under "calories". The content of calorific value and dietary ingredients should be in a new column to the right of the name or immediately after the name in the same column.

(5) The content is expressed by the quality of the dietary ingredients, not by the quality of the source of the dietary ingredients. The revised regulations stipulate the information of dietary ingredients on the label:
â‘ Total calories, fat calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, sugar, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, etc., should be marked on the label as 14 Item mandatory labeling content.
â‘¡ Heat energy obtained from saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, potassium, vitamins and minerals (% DV) specified in RDA, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, sugar alcohol, other carbohydrates are voluntary The 10 categories marked.

Other vitamins and minerals are not necessarily marked, but they must be marked when added to food for strengthening purposes. Ingredients not contained or less than 2% of RDI need not be marked. If it contains only a single amino acid in addition to ingredients added only for technical reasons, the protein should not be labeled.

The new regulations stipulate that the percentage of daily consumption is for adults and children over 4 years old. For foods used by infants, children under 4 years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women, the applicable population of the food should be indicated on the column headings, and the daily consumption percentage of each population should be marked. For vitamins and minerals in foods used by infants, children under 4 years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women without DRV, a mark should be placed at the bottom of the label box, under the last thick line, to declare this mark: "No Daily consumption ".

The labeling of all nutritional information and the revised regulations stipulate that the title “Fortified Nutrients” should use a larger font than other words on the nutrition label, and should be as wide as the label whenever possible. All headings should be in bold to distinguish them from other information. Nutritional information should be enclosed in a thin line box. All information in the nutrition label should be in a uniform, easy-to-read print (black or monochrome), printed on a white or other contrasting background.

The law stipulates that the content required on the mark must be clearly marked, and the marked content can be easily understood by ordinary consumers under general purchasing and use conditions. Details on the form, size, location, etc. of the content required on the label can be found in the FDA regulations, which includes the content specified in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Good Packaging and Marking Act.

Compared with developed countries and international standards, China does not have a practical standard for food nutrition labeling, so the labeling of nutrition content in food has always been in a state of freedom, disorder, and anarchy. After China has joined the World Trade Organization, the food industry is faced with a severe test. On the one hand, there is a large influx of food from developed countries, and on the other hand, China ’s relatively backward "food labeling law" cannot meet the requirements of exported food. "Food Nutrition Labeling Act" requirements. Therefore, mastering all aspects of the food law of the export destination country is a lesson that our food export enterprises must take.

Because the FDA's requirements for food labels are very detailed and specific, and they are constantly innovating, Chinese food export companies are unable to understand these requirements in time, and it is not uncommon for food exported to the United States to be returned due to non-compliant labels. On April 7, 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued three TBT (WTO / TBT, World Trade Organization / Technical Trade Barrier Agreement) notifications to the WTO Center, which involved food labels in the form of labels and labeling content. Possible new revisions. This shows that the United States may have new initiatives in food labeling. The three proposals of the US FDA on improving the appearance and content of food nutrition labels may be approved after a period of public comment. At that time, all pre-packaged food labels exported from China to the United States must meet the requirements of the new proposal.

In fact, TBT notifications are a necessary way for countries to deal with food-related trade barriers and regulations, and the content often involves new trends in food laws and regulations changes in their own countries. Generally, most TBT notifications will be approved by the WTO to take effect. Therefore, for China's food export enterprises, understanding the relevant TBT notifications abroad can predict the new standards of the food laws and regulations of the destination country in advance, so as to reduce the risk of enterprise exports and avoid unnecessary losses.

TBT Bulletin on Food Labeling in the United States in Recent Years

Serial number notification number notification title notification date
1 G / TBT / N / USA / 106 Food labeling; guidelines for voluntary nutrition labeling of unprocessed fruits, vegetables and fish; identification of the 20 most frequently consumed unprocessed fruits, vegetables and fish; heavy Open comment period 2005-4-7
2 G / TBT / N / USA / 105 food label; highlight calories 2005-4-7
3 G / TBT / N / USA / 104 Food label: the portion size of food that can be properly absorbed per meal; update the reference quantity that can usually be absorbed; the method of recommending a smaller portion size 2005-4-7
4 G / TBT / N / USA / 56 Unified implementation date of food labeling regulations 2004-5-18
5 G / TBT / N / USA / 49 "Food Labeling: Anti-Fatty Acids in Nutrition Labels, Considering Nutrient Content Statements and Health Statements and Possible Footnotes or Market Statements to Reveal Statements; Final Rules and Recommended Rules" 2003-7- 17
6 G / TBT / N / USA / 48 "Food Labeling: Anti-Fatty Acids in Nutrition Labels, Considering Nutrient Content Statements and Health Statements and Possible Footnotes or Market Statements to Reveal Statements" 2003-7-17
7 G / TBT / N / USA / 39 Nutrition Label: Declaration on the Nutritional Composition of Multi-purpose Dietary Meat and Poultry Products 2003-4-28
8 G / TBT / N / USA / 28 Food labeling: nutrition label, nutritional content declaration and health declaration of trans-fatty acid; reopened comment period 2002-12-5
9 G / TBT / N / USA / 25 Guidelines developed by the Agricultural Marketing Authority Act of 1946 for countries that temporarily use the original label for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities and peanuts 2002- 10-23
10 G / TBT / N / USA / 4 Nutrition labeling of crushed or lump meat and poultry products and single-component products 2001-2-7

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