Online Label Claim Solution

LabelCalc delivers FDA-approved nutrition claims without third party analyses.

By
Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor

America’s ongoing passion for healthy eating is evident in the continuous rollout of a wide variety of nutritionally sound foods and beverages. To keep pace with these demands, food manufacturers are intensifying their quest for various FDA-approved Nutrient Content Claims.

The 2007 International Food Information Council’s Food & Health Survey revealed that 75% of Americans polled were concerned with their weight, as opposed to 66% in 2006. In addition, 70% of those surveyed felt that dietary changes could help significantly with losing extra pounds. Further, 72% wanted to know the amount and type of fats they ate, and 70% were concerned with how much sugar they consumed. Eighty percent said they agreed that certain foods and beverages could improve “heart health,” and 76% maintained that what one consumes can contribute to overall health and wellness.

Labels touting products as “low fat,” “low sodium” and “low cholesterol” are increasingly in demand. And while labs and third-party analysts have traditionally been the gold standard route for creating FDA-compliant nutrition panels, there is a new option for Internet-savvy food manufacturers in search of a more interactive, time-sensitive alternative.

San Mateo, CA-based LabelCalc is an online, one-stop, FDA-compliant nutrition panel service users can access anytime, from anywhere in the world. The service enables users to avoid the expense, hassle and delays of giving nutrient analysis and panel label creation to an outside source, while benefiting from LabelCalc’s helpful and simple tools, such as the Claims Calculator.

The Claims Calculator allows users to quickly determine if they qualify for FDA-approved Nutrient Content Claims. After logging on, users enter their product’s ingredients, quantity and unit of measure, and LabelCalc displays results for each nutrient so they can see how close they are to being eligible for making an FDA-approved claim. There are 24 claim options, and approved claims are highlighted for the user. The Claims Calculator also helps users to properly adjust their product’s ingredients to make official claim requirements.

According to LabelCalc President, Lucy Needham, the service is designed to replace third-party analyses. “LabelCalc offers everything a food manufacturer needs as far as FDA regulations, ingredient analysis and allergen alerts,” she said. “Companies no longer have to wait for results or pay extra for Facts Panels.”

After ingredient information is inputted, the average time to get the nutrition analysis and complete with Facts Panel and Ingredient Statement is about 25 minutes. The labels can then be downloaded and/or emailed instantaneously.

And to be clear, Ms. Needham rebuffed the speculation that manufacturers might misrepresent food ingredients to quality for certain claims. “When you use a lab or third party, most of the time you need to fill out a recipe formulation form. This is where the customer must add the ingredients, weight, serving size, etc. There could be the opportunity to misrepresent at that stage,” she said. “But with LabelCalc, we have tools built into the system to help ensure clients follow the FDA steps. One way we do this is through our automated ‘Compliance Checklist’ that tracks user input and offers alerts if a section is missed. We also assist in determining the correct Serving Size (if the serving size entered is greater than FDA’s recommended serving size, LabelCalc instantly notifies the user and provides example sizes). Similar tools are built for the ingredients page and Facts Panel format page. So it’s hard to ‘trick’ the system.”

Additional Benefits

Ms. Needham explained that in addition to on-demand labels, LabelCalc also enables food manufacturers to benefit from substantial cost savings. “When using a lab you have to take into consideration transporting conditions, appropriate shipping containers (to minimize exposure and/or contamination) and the speed in which the product gets there; you most likely will need to pay for overnight shipping,” she said. “These added steps are time consuming, costly and provide no preventative support, such as notifying the manufacturer that they may have missed an allergen.”

LabelCalc’s instant results can also streamline new product development. “To bring a new product to market takes months of preparation and reformulation,” said Ms. Needham. “Your company is finally ready to find out the nutritional results, so they start down the lab process of finding shipping containers, packing the product in dry ice and so forth. Can you imagine the distress a company would go through to find out after all that preparation time that their new product has 50% more sodium than the leading brand?Why would a consumer purchase that?”

LabelCalc’s instant results support clients’ desires to meet market trends, offer healthier options and even specify a target audience (such as diabetics). “With LabelCalc you find out before you make it, pack it, ship and wait,” she said. “The results are instant, therefore clients can be proactive when formulating their products. Within a matter of minutes companies can re-think a formula to comply with market trends.”

Independently owned and operated, LabelCalc was developed by FoodCalc, which creates unique online applications for food manufacturers, restaurants, dieticians, chefs and various culinary professionals.