The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in a recent Constituent Update that it is providing additional flexibility to food manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales in complying with FDA’s new nutrition labeling requirements (1). Although the January 1, 2021, compliance date will remain in place for manufacturers with annual food sales of less than $10 million, FDA “will not focus on enforcement actions during 2021 for these smaller food manufacturers.” FDA also noted this additional flexibility includes manufacturers of packages and containers of single-ingredient sugars, such as honey, regardless of the size of the manufacturer.
This additional flexibility is similar to the flexibility FDA announced for manufacturers with annual food sales greater than $10 million earlier this year 2; these manufacturers were required to comply with the new nutrition labeling requirements by January 1, 2020, but FDA indicated it would not focus on enforcement actions during 2020. FDA is not extending the length of time that this additional flexibility would be available for manufacturers with more than $10 million in annual food sales, except for manufacturers of packages and containers of single-ingredient sugars.
We will continue to monitor developments related to FDA’s implementation of the new nutrition labeling requirements and any flexibility for regulatory requirements the agency provides in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
1 FDA Constituent Update, FDA Provides Additional Flexibility Regarding Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels, (Sept. 18, 2020), https://www.fda.gov/food/cfsan-constituent-updates/fda-provides-additional-flexibility-regarding-nutrition-and-supplement-facts-labels.
2 See HL Memo - FDA Announces Temporary Flexibility Regarding Nutrition Labeling Due to COVID-19 Pandemic (March 23, 2020), https://www.hlfoodlaw.com/2020/03/fda-announces-temporary-flexibility-regarding-nutrition-labeling-due-to-covid-19-pandemic/.
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