The FDA website informs us that “The Food and Drug
Administration is the oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency in the
U.S. federal government.” It has been regulating food production and delivery
practices and enforcing food laws for over a century. The agency’s requirements
for proper food labeling have been giving food producers a headache because of
their complexity, but the consumers definitely benefit from their rigorous
standards.
The FDA provides strict guidelines on how to label a food product,
so that it includes important information about its contents: the percentage of
nutrients, vitamins, minerals, calories, the list of all ingredients, including and clearly
identifying any potential allergens,
the origin of food or the address of the manufacturer/distributor, etc.
Conscientious food producers often include non-mandatory but useful information
such as “best before” date, information about whether it’s “washed” or
“ready-to-eat”, health claims, recipes, defrosting instructions and other
helpful tips.
The FDA is constantly improving their
website with news and tips about food safety. Looking after the consumers’ best
interests, it is now proposing changes to current food labeling regulations to
include more accurate information about the serving size, added sugar, etc.
Before that happens, everyone concerned about healthy nutrition and food safety
should become better informed about what they are eating, and the best way to
start is to find out how to read food labels and read this simple
guide to food labeling requirements.
Thank you, Angela
Gomez, for bringing this ebook to my attention and writing this blog
post (all except the first paragraph).
Readers can access and download this free ebook at http://www.
