Policy - Food Labeling: Trans Fatty Acids in Nutrition Labeling, Nutrient Content Claims, and Health Claims

Date:
January 2006
Published by:
Food and Drug Administration, HHS
Published year:
July 2003
Adopted by:
FDA
Type of policy:
Legislation relevant to nutrition

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Legislation Details

Summary: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations on nutrition labeling to require that trans fatty acids be declared in the nutrition label of conventional foods and dietary supplements on a separate line immediately under the line for the declaration of saturated fatty acids. This action responds, in part, to a citizen petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). This rule is intended to provide information to assist consumers in maintaining healthy dietary practices. Those sections of the proposed rule pertaining to the definition of nutrient content claims for the ‘‘free’’ level of trans fatty acids and to limits on the amounts of trans fatty acids wherever saturated fatty acid limits are placed on nutrient content claims, health claims, and disclosure and disqualifying levels are being withdrawn. Further, the agency is withdrawing the proposed requirement to include a footnote stating: ‘‘Intake of trans fat should be as low as possible.’’ Issues related to the possible use of a footnote statement in conjunction with the trans fat label declaration or in the context of certain nutrient content and health claims that contain messages about cholesterolraising fats in the diet are now the subject of an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) which is published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.

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The revisions and additions are to read as follows: § 101.9 Nutrition labeling of food.

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(ii) ‘‘Trans fat’’ or ‘‘Trans’’: A statement of the number of grams of trans fat in a serving, defined as the sum of all unsaturated fatty acids that contain one or more isolated (i.e., nonconjugated) double bonds in a trans configuration, except that label declaration of trans fat content information is not required for products that contain less than 0.5 gram of total fat in a serving if no claims are made about fat, fatty acid or cholesterol content. The word ‘‘trans’’ may be italicized to indicate its Latin origin. Trans fat content shall be indented and expressed as grams per serving to the nearest 0.5 (1/2)-gram increment below 5 grams and to the nearest gram increment above 5 grams. If the serving contains less than 0.5 gram, the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero. Except as provided for in paragraph (f) of this section, if a statement of the trans fat content is not required and, as a result, not declared, the statement ‘‘Not a significant source of trans fat’’ shall be placed at the bottom of the table of nutrient values.

Reference: 

WHO Global Nutrition Policy Review 2009-2010

Further notes: 

Title 21--Food and drugs. Chapter I-- Food and Drug Administration Department of Health and Human Services. Subchapter B--Food for human consumption. Part 101 -- Food labeling.https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?f...

Revision log

DateUserLogState
Thu, 11/30/2023 - 15:05engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Tue, 08/02/2022 - 18:58engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Tue, 08/02/2022 - 18:28engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Tue, 08/02/2022 - 18:26engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Wed, 07/13/2022 - 17:54engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Tue, 04/23/2019 - 10:31engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published
Sun, 04/21/2019 - 21:05engesveenkEdited by engesveenk.published