June 2022

Dear Christina,

Welcome to June's Label Alert! In this month's headlines, FDA won't exempt tagatose from added sugar labeling, FDA attempts to create a "healthy" graphic symbol for food labels, judges become impatient with some litigants in class action lawsuits against food and beverage companies, and more ...

This month, we're pleased to offer Label Alert subscribers $100 off our upcoming Canadian Labeling webinar, June 14th and 16th. Learn the regulations that govern food labeling in Canada, and the differences between US and CFIA labeling enforcement.

Now, get caught up on the latest industry news from Label Alert!

FDA Denies Request to Exempt Tagatose from Added Sugar Labeling in Decision Slammed as ‘Contradictory and Illogical’

The FDA has denied a request to exempt rare sugar tagatose from the total and added sugars declaration on the Nutrition Facts panel, three years after granting the same request for rare sugar allulose, a decision petitioner Bonumose has slammed as “contradictory and illogical,” but the agency says reflects the fact that tagatose has more calories per gram.  

Read on....

A Healthy Try at Simplifying Food Labels?

The topic we examine this month is the effort of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop a graphic symbol that packagers could voluntarily add to food labels to denote, when a food is “healthy.”

Read on ...

Class Action Lawsuits vs Food and Bev Brands Surged in 2021, but Courts Are "Growing Increasingly Impatient" with Some Litigants, Says Perkins Coie

Food and beverage class actions surged in 2021, driven in part by a tsunami of cases over heavy metals in baby food, but judges are wearying of cases that assume consumers have zero common sense, according to a review by law firm Perkins Coie.

Read on...

FDA Rejects Calls to Ban the Use of Phthalates in Food Packaging

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made the decision that phthalates can still be used in products, despite campaigners claiming they are toxic and dangerous. Phthalates are commonly used in fast-food packaging and food handling products like plastic gloves. However, environmental organizations and scientists have been trying to get the chemicals banned for years as they could pose a risk to consumers.  

Read on...

Designing Food Labels For the Visually Impaired

From Braille on boxes to QR codes for screen readers, producers are finding ways to make their goods more accessible.

Read on....

More Consumers Look for Clean Eating as They Battle Stress, Survey Shows

Slightly more than half of all consumers say they are following a diet or eating pattern — increasing to 52% from 39% in 2021 — according to the International Food Information Council’s 2022 Food and Health Survey.

Read on....

Career Corner: Sun-Maid Growers of California

Sun-Maid Growers of California is hiring a Label Regulatory Compliance Manager/Sr. Scientist.

Job posting....