Making Sense of FDA’s New Dual-Column Nutrition Facts Label Requirement for 2-3 Servings

By Maya Wilson, Label & Regulatory Compliance Consultant, ESHA Research

In the United States, the majority of packaged food products can accommodate the standard Nutrition Facts label, making it the most commonly used label format on store shelves. When FDA finalized its new U.S. Nutrition Facts rule in 2016, one of the label’s most notable changes was the addition of a new dual-column requirement for packages containing 2-3 servings.

There are four different dual-column label formats:
• For food that requires further preparation (such as dry cake mixes or dry pasta products)
• For food that is commonly combined with other ingredients (such as cereal plus milk)
• To show % Daily Values for two different Recommended Daily Intakes (such as for a child and for an adult)
• To show nutrition information for two serving sizes. In this case, the purpose for this dual-column label is to indicate to consumers the nutrition facts for one serving and for the entire package.

The dual-column label is voluntary in all of the cases above except for the last one. With the new regulations, containers that have between two and three servings in them are now required to use the dual-column label to show nutrition information for a single serving and per the whole container.

When evaluating if your product will now require a dual-column label, you will also want to review the following: changes in the Reference Amount Customarily Consumed (RACC), serving size, nutrient content claims, and exemptions. The following slides will highlight considerations for each of these.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO VIEW SLIDESHOW

Photo © ESHA Research