The new proposal states that manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual sales would have until January 1, 2020 to comply with label requirements that reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease. Manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales would receive an extra year to comply — until January 1, 2021.The FDA published the final rules on May 27, 2016.
The FDA’s proposal for the compliance date extension was issued last week. The previous compliance date was July 26, 2018. Companies are pleased with the new date proposal, which would allow them more to time to execute the updates to the Nutrition Facts Panel in a manner that will reduce consumer confusion and costs in the marketplace.
“FDA’s decision recognizes the practical consequences of a complete changeover of our food labels,” says Robb MacKie, president and CEO of the American Bakers Association. “This additional time will help suppliers and bakers provide consumers with needed nutrition information to make healthy, informed decisions about their diets. We also hope this additional time will enable harmonized label changes for both FDA’s Nutrition Facts label rule and USDA’s bioengineered food disclosure. One label change would be beneficial for consumers and industry alike.”
