FDA Announces Form of Enforcement Discretion for First Six Months After New Nutrition Labeling Rule Compliance Date

FDA explains that it has received several requests for additional time to comply with the new nutrition labeling requirements, and accordingly intends to work cooperatively with industry for the first 6 months following the compliance date:

I understand that the FDA has received multiple requests from manufacturers to provide additional time to comply with the new requirements. Do I still have to meet the January 1, 2020, compliance date?

The FDA has heard from several manufacturers and groups that more time may be needed to meet all of the requirements. Therefore, during the first 6 months following the January 1, 2020, compliance date, FDA plans to work cooperatively with manufacturers to meet the new Nutrition Facts label requirements and will not focus on enforcement actions regarding these requirements during that time.

The agency statement provides the industry with much-needed flexibility to facilitate a seamless transition to the new labels. We would encourage companies to maintain their diligence in transitioning to the new labels so that the entire inventory will be transitioned during the first six months of 2020. We will continue to monitor the FDA’s implementation of the new nutrition labeling requirements. If you have questions on this or any other matter, please contact us.

Authored by Martin Hahn and Samantha Dietle 

References

1 See Industry Resources on Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label, available at https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition
² For more information on the compliance date for the nutrition labeling final rules, see our memo, available at https://www.engage.hoganlovells.com/knowledgeservices/news/fda-finalizes-extension-of-compliance-date-for-nutrition-labeling-final-rules For manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales, the compliance date is January 1, 2021.