The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) are two federal agencies responsible for regulating food labels in the United States. Each organization focuses on certain food products and has a food labeling oversight.
Food manufacturers must provide information about their food products on labels as consumers consider this information when making purchasing decisions. Further, some information is valuable to the consumers' health and safety. As such, some food labeling guidelines need to be mandated and regulated by federal organizations.
With the number of food labeling guidelines, food companies can be quite confused about which agency oversees what food products. Nevertheless, they need to adhere to the appropriate agency's regulations. Here's what you need to know about the USDA and FDA Food Labeling.
The USDA is primarily responsible for supporting agriculture in the US and in ensuring the safety of agricultural products. The agency's oversight includes:
The USDA makes sure that the nation's commercial supply of these products is correctly labeled and packaged using a pre-market approval design. Further, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), an agency within the USDA, issues policy guidance, nutrition labeling, and memoranda regarding the mentioned food products (USDA, Food Labeling).
The FDA ensures that food sold in the US is wholesome, safe, and correctly using post-market surveillance. Additionally, the agency monitors foods, drugs, dietary supplements, and animal feeds. The FDA requires proper labeling of most prepared foods like cereals, bread, canned and frozen foods, drinks, desserts, and others. On the other hand, nutrition labeling in raw produce or "conventional" foods is voluntary. The FDA's Food Labeling Guide answers most of the questions that food producers might raise.
The FDA regulates most of the US food supply, such as:
Some of these food products overlap with the foods covered by the guidelines of the USDA.
Aside from overseeing the meat, poultry, eggs, and produce, the USDA also handles the agencies responsible for US dietary guidelines and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Meanwhile, the FDA regulates the nutrition facts labels on all processed food.
The FDA regulates more than 80% of the US food supply, including dairy, seafood, processed and packaged foods, and even bottled water. Many Americans think the USDA is the primary inspection agency for food inspection as the blue stamps on a food feature the USDA logo prominently. In contrast, the FDA does not logo doesn't appear on the nutrition label of foods or supplements they approve.
The oversight between these two organizations can overlap in the case of food with several ingredients. For instance, a frozen vegan meal will only need the FDA's approval for the nutritional label. However, a frozen lasagna with a traditional meat sauce needs USDA inspections to ensure the quality of its meat and dairy ingredients.
To comply with the different guidelines on food labeling, food producers must follow the revised 2016 Food Package Nutrition Labels by the FDA, ensure that they pass the various inspections by the USDA, and have the necessary requirements for their label claims.
Mandating disclosure of nutrients and information on the food label increases the consumers' awareness of the food they eat. This will ideally encourage suppliers to reformulate food products to be healthier and the consumers to make healthier selections.
The USDA and FDA ensure complete labeling on foods. However, with the number of ingredients in a single food product, finding the line of oversight between the two organizations can be difficult. Every food processor and producer needs to be fully aware of the ingredients in each food. You can achieve compliance with food labeling regulations by partnering with an accredited laboratory.
We consider NLEA testing one of our core competencies and offer several comprehensive testing packages to meet the FDA or USDA regulations. Our team is equipped to help clients navigate which package is most applicable for each product. This includes mandatory nutrients, but also voluntary nutrients & content claims. Testing packages are designed to provide all data needed for generation of a compliant Nutrition or Supplement Facts Panel. Our service is personalized, and each product can be evaluated individually prior to testing, rather than applying a "standard" package to all matrices. Learn more about how Eurofins' network of laboratories can support your nutrition testing and labeling needs.