Nutritional Information on Menus and Packaging

1. Nutritional Information on Menus and Packaging Ashley Smallridge – Sarah Tovar – Sarah Sinnott - Azemina

2. Historical Context: Developing food labels • 1862 President Lincoln launches the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Chemistry, the predecessor of the Food and Drug Administration. • 1938 A revised and expanded Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FDC) Act of 1938 is passed. Highlights include: safe tolerances to be set for unavoidable poisonous substances, standards of identity, quality, and fill-of-container to be set for foods, and authorization of factory inspections. • 1950Oleomargarine Act requires prominent labeling of colored oleomargarine, to distinguish it from butter. • 1958Food Additives Amendment enacted, requiring manufacturers of new food additives to establish safety. Going forward, manufacturers were required to declare all additives in a product. • 1958 FDA publishes the first list of food substances generally recognized as safe (GRAS). • 1965Fair Packaging and Labeling Act requires all consumer products in interstate commerce to be honestly and informatively labeled, including food. • 1990Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) is passed.  It requires all packaged foods to bear nutrition labeling and all health claims for foods to be consistent with terms defined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

3. 1991 Nutrition facts, basic per-serving nutritional information, are required on foods under the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. Food labels are to list the most important nutrients in an easy-to-follow format. • 2002 The 2002 Farm Bill requires retailers provide country-of-origin (COOL) labeling for fresh beef, pork, and lamb. • 2003 Announcement made that FDA will require food labels to include trans fat content. • 2004 Passage of the Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. Requires labeling of any food that contains one or more of: peanuts, soybeans, cow’s milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, and wheat. • October 2010 – The Institute of Medicine recommends only 4 nutrients be considered when preparing front of pack labels: Calories, Saturated Fat, Trans-Fat and Sodium. • December 2010 – The USDA requires cuts of meat to display nutrition. (A walkthrough of a current nutritional information label) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=079yxxXXEVc

4. Geographical Context British Nutritional Information and Usage

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8. British Labels • Labeling is monitored by the Food Standards Agency. • Within the last few years, they introduced the traffic light program on the front of packages to help consumers. • Unfortunately obesity rates continue to rise in the U.K. • 43% of men and 33% of women are overweight. 22% of men and 23% of women are obese.

9. Major Players • Meat- consumers are happy to be provided with additional information on the label but meat packers seem to be ok with providing it • USDA announced that major cuts of raw, single –ingredient meat and etc.. has to provide nutrition facts on the package or at the point of sale. • There is 29 percent more calories available to eat then 50 years ago • Obesity is a supply problem that many people have to deal with and it is caused by not watching what they eat • That number is increasing by a lot in America • Here is another problem people have: Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke. • Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. • Diabetes affects 25.8 million people of all ages but only 8.3 percent of the U.S. population

10. Sources of Conflict: Are people reading nutrition labels correctly?

11. Serving size determines how many calories and nutrients amount are in the product Sources of conflict: Who’s job is it to teach people how to read nutrition labels? Limit these nutrients General Guide to Calories40 Calories is low 100 Calories is moderate 400 Calories or more is high Get enough of these nutrients

12. Impact on U.S. • If people don’t pay attention to what they are eating, then offering nutritional • information on the menu will bring little progress. • Obesity rates are still rising in America. • Americans fail to realize serving sizes of the food they eat. • In a study done out of 10 people: • 6 used the nutritional label • 5 read the ingredients of the product • 4.5 looked at serving size • Sit down restaurants may have more of an effect than fast food.

14. Solutions • Teach how to read and respect nutritional labels in schools. • Keep serving sizes in mind. • Reduce calorie intakes and increase physical activity. • Shift to a more plant-based diet. • Reduce the addition of sugars, solid fats, sodium, and refined grains.

15. Sarah T. • Historical Context • http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2008/10/25/1862-2008-a-brief-history-of-food-and-nutrition-labeling/ • Padget • Geographical Context • Azemina • Major Players • http://organaholic.com/2011/02/08/nutrition-facts-labels-to-appear-on-meat/ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-future-of-nutrition-labeling-for-food-and-drinks-in-europe-evolving-consumer-needs-manufacturer-and-retailer-strategies-and-market-opportunities-106900563.html • http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/statistics/ • http://www.stuffednation.com/blog/ • Sarah S. • Sources of Conflict • http://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/consumerinformation/ucm078889.htm • http://www.nutritionsection.com/Nutrition/Reading-Food-Labels-Properly.html • http://www.panerabread.com/menu/ • http://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/consumerinformation/ucm078889.htm • Ashley Smallridge • Impact on U.S. • http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2010/08/03/rising-obesity-rates-and-nutrition-labels/# • http://www.livescience.com/9306-nutrition-labels-menus-dont-alter-habits.html • http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/20090630hermenulabeling.pdf • All • Solutions