As previously covered on this blog, in May 2016, FDA issued final rules to implement changes to the nutrition and dietary supplement labeling and serving size regulations. Mandatory compliance with the new nutrition labeling requirements for food products that are initially introduced into interstate commerce is currently slated for July 26, 2018 (or July 26, 2019 for manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales).

FDA updated its webpage on Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label today, June 13, to announce that the compliance dates for the Nutrition Facts Label Final Rules will be extended, although the Agency has not specified the length of the extension. FDA explained that “additional time would provide manufacturers covered by the rule with necessary guidance from FDA, and would help them be able to complete and print updated nutrition facts panels for their products before they are expected to be in compliance.”

FDA further explained that, “The framework for the extension will be guided by the desire to give industry more time and decrease costs, balanced with the importance of minimizing the transition period during which consumers will see both the old and the new versions of the label in the marketplace.”

One of the arguments for extending the compliance date given by industry was that labels will need to be changed again in 2021 when USDA’s GMO labeling disclosure requirements are expected to come into effect. Aligning the compliance dates for changes to the Nutrition Facts Label and GMO labeling disclosure requirements would eliminate the need to change labels twice, industry explained at a March 22, 2017 House Agriculture Committee hearing (a blog entry on that meeting can be found here.) FDA said it will announce the new compliance dates in a future Federal Register Notice.