NEWS
12/02/1992

<TITLE>Announced agreement on regulations which will provide for consistent, scientifically based labeling for nearly all processed foods</TITLE>
<PRE>
P92-35                                      Food and Drug Administration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       Brad Stone - (202) 205-4144

    HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., today announced agreement on       
final regulations which for the first time will provide for consistent,       
scientifically based labeling for nearly all processed foods.
    The rules, aimed at providing consumers with better information about     
the nutritional values of foods, constitute the most extensive food labeling  
reform in the country's history.
    Under the agreement announced today, consumers will find a single         
nutrition label format on virtually all processed foods.  Foods regulated by  
the Food and Drug Administration will be required to provide the label under  
the HHS rules announced today; processed foods regulated by the U.S.          
Department of Agriculture will bear the same nutrition label under today's    
agreement.
    "The Tower of Babel in food labels has come down, and American consumers  
are the winners," Secretary Sullivan said.  "For the first time, consumers    
will be able to use a single format for virtually all processed foods to      
compare nutrition values and make healthy choices."
    The new labels could appear on some foods by mid-1993.  They will be      
required under the final regulations in 1994.
    Secretary Sullivan called the new provisions "a watershed" and a          
powerful new tool for consumers seeking healthier diets.
    "Science tells us that the right diet can promote good health,"           
Secretary Sullivan said.  "Now American consumers will have a label they can  
trust to help them select the foods they need to stay healthy."
    In one key change, the nutrition panel on the label will have a new,      
more complete format.  The panel will include not only nutrient contents of   
the specific food product, but also information on the relationship of the    
ingredients to an average daily caloric intake.
    Other new provisions to ensure accuracy and improve label usefulness for  
consumers include consistency in the presentation of serving sizes,           
definitions for nine core descriptive terms such as "light" and "low fat,"    
and provisions for health claims which may be made by prepared foods          
containing specific nutrients.
    "Quite simply, the new label will provide a consistent tool to help       
consumers select healthier diets," Secretary Sullivan said.  " As such, it    
will also be a powerful incentive to the food industry to offer a greater     
variety of healthy food choices."
    Dr. Sullivan said a nationwide consumer education campaign will be        
launched to help acquaint consumers with the new label provisions and assist  
them in using the information to full advantage.
    Among the highlights of today's announcement are provisions that:

    *Expand nutrition labeling to nearly all processed foods including far    
more comprehensive, consistent and intelligible information on serving        
sizes, nutrients and other elements.

    *Standardize definitions for descriptive terms such as "light," "low      
sodium" and "high fiber" so that they mean only one thing for nearly all      
foods.
                                   -MORE-


                                            Page 2, Food Labeling, P92-35
    *Allow scientifically established, standard health claims for nutrients   
in foods that have been shown to help reduce the risk of disease.

    Permitted health claims are those that cite relationships between         
calcium and osteoporosis; sodium and hypertension; fat and cancer; fat and    
heart disease; fiber-containing foods and cancer; fiber-containing foods and  
heart disease; and foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains that     
are high in antioxidant vitamins (including vitamin C) and cancer.  The new   
rules also acknowledge a benefit for folic acid for women of child-bearing    
age, but food labeling to that effect must await further study on how to      
avoid potentially hazardous overuse.

    "In the past, food labeling has been incomplete and inconsistent," said   
FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D.  "But today we are entering into an   
era of straight talk and science-based integrity for our food labels."

    The new rules, administered by the Food and Drug Administration for most  
foods are required to carry out provisions of the Nutrition Labeling and      
Education Act of 1990.  Although NLEA does not cover meat and poultry         
products, which are under USDA's jurisdiction, USDA's Food Safety and         
Inspection Service has proposed labeling requirements for these foods, and    
has agreed to use labeling consistent with FDA-regulated foods.

                                    ###
</PRE>