Industry News | FDA Issues Temporary Guidance for Some Food Labeling Flexibility

Due to supply chain interruptions related to the COVID-19 outbreak, the FDA is issuing temporary guidance allowing manufacturers to continue to use existing labels when some ingredients are substituted, as long as those ingredients meet specific criteria.

Industry News | FDA Issues Reopening Best-Practices Checklist for Restaurants

The FDA has published a checklist and infographic addressing safety measures to help retail food establishments who are able to reopen.

Industry News | The FTC is Warning Companies That Claim to Treat or Prevent COVID-19

The Federal Trade Commission announced it has sent letters warning 50 more marketers nationwide to stop making unsubstantiated claims that their products and therapies can treat or prevent COVID-19. This is the fifth set of warning letters the FTC has announced. In all, the Commission has sent similar letters to more than 120 companies and individuals.

Industry News | Guidance Helps FDA-Regulated Food Establishments Request Help, Report Closures

The FDA has published a guidance document to help FDA-regulated establishments human dining facilities and farms voluntarily notify the agency of temporary closures and significant reductions in operations, or request assistance from the FDA on issues that might affect the continuity of their operations during the pandemic.

_____________

Blog | FDA Allergen Statement Labeling: Synonyms, Species, and Types

Some allergens need more detail than just the general allergen designation, like species or type. This blog covers what terms you can use (and which are mandatory)  in your allergen statements. 

Blog | Best Practices for Naming Conventions

Establishing your naming conventions for your database items allows for better organization and quicker searches. This blog covers tips on how to do that.

_____________

FAQ | Question: How do I determine what to put on my label as the household measure for one serving of pie?

Answer: The CFR says to use fractional slices for “… products in large discrete units that are usually divided up for consumption (e.g., cake, pie, pizza, melon, cabbage).”

First determine the gram weight of your full pie. Divide that by the RACC serving size, and round your answer to the nearest whole number. 1/x is your fractional slice.

Example: The total weight of my cherry pie is 967g. The RACC household measure for a serving of pie is 125g. 967 ÷ 125 = 7.736. That rounds up to 8, so 1/8 pie is the household serving size I would put on my label. And for the gram weight you would use the exact gram weight of 1/8 a pie, which, in this case is 121g. It will look something like this:

Serving Size           1/8 pie (121g) 

This new cheat sheet will help your determine which household serving is best for your product’s label.

_____________

Tutorial | Finding Recipes That Use A Certain Ingredient

Customers often ask us, “How can I find a list of Recipes that contain a particular Ingredient?” Watch this tutorial to learn the answer. 

Tutorial | Searching for Ingredients by Nutrient Value

This tutorial will show you how to find Ingredients that are high in protein and low in saturated fat as an example of how to search by nutrient values. Check it out. 

_____________

Recorded Webinar | Ingredient Data Deep Dive

During this webinar, we discussed the many options for reviewing the nutrient data that makes up your ingredients. Topics covered: Understanding reported data, searching for specific nutrients, data comparison, and more.  

Upcoming Webinar | Genesis R&D Foods 11.8 Features Overview (Coming Soon!)

During this webinar, we will review all of the new features being introduced in the next update of Genesis R&D. Topics include: Spec Sheet reports for Ingredients and Recipes, U.S. sulfite tracking and labeling, and more! Register here. 

_____________