Is Your Label Passing Food Label Requirements?

Due to concerns over health and safety of food products in the US, the FDA has put together a comprehensive list of food label requirements that all manufacturers and distributors must follow. This list includes nutritional information, as well as important identifying information about the manufacturer. 

What You Need To Tell The Consumer

The first set of FDA food label regulations include a comprehensive list of facts that need to be clearly stated on your food labels. In general, this information must be placed prominently on the front of the package where it will most likely be seen by the consumer. It must be both prominent and conspicuous, using a font that can easily be identified among images and other text on the package. This information includes the brand name and type of food in the container, as well as a net weight or other measurement of the contents. Next you will need to include the standardized nutritional label information along with serving size measurements, and the location of the manufacturer or distributor. 

Placement of Information

In many cases, companies choose to use the front surface of their container to display their brand name, the name of the product and the quantity contained within. The remaining nutritional values and manufacturer information is allowed to be placed on a side panel or the back of the container. It is extremely important that you closely follow guidelines for the flow of information on your side panels as the FDA says that all of this information must be placed together without intervening unregulated text or images. For instance, the nutritional values and manufacturer's address cannot be separated by a paragraph about your company history. You will need to find another location on your label for any additional images or text that does not interfere with the FDA required information. 

Why It Matters

To protect consumers everywhere, the FDA has issued these regulations as a means of monitoring manufacturers and ensuring that consumers are getting fair and factual data. The best way to do this is to utilize a standardized layout for nutritional data so that consumers can compare products side by side. Consumers who know how to read a food label the correct way can easily discern which products are the better value and which ones may be harmful. 

Food label requirements are a fairly exact science. Fortunately, the FDA has laid out pretty clear guidelines for how to create food labels that meet their expectations. Once you are familiar with all of the food label requirements that affect your products, it is time to check out our free eBook that covers how to find the right labeling equipment to get the job done. Now that you understand why food labels are so important and how to design your very own, your products can start making their way to the labeling line.