Skip to main content

Nutrition Labeling: FDA and USDA Need a Coordinated Assessment of Food Label Accuracy

RCED-95-19 Published: Dec 29, 1994. Publicly Released: Jan 09, 1995.
Jump To:
Skip to Highlights

Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) and Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) new nutrition labeling regulations, focusing on: (1) the effect of the new regulations on the food industry's development and reporting of nutrient values; (2) the enforcement efforts FDA and FSIS have taken to help ensure the accuracy of food nutrition labels; and (3) FDA and FSIS plans for evaluating and improving the effectiveness of their nutrition labeling policies and procedures.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Health and Human Services The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services should develop a coordinated evaluation strategy that will provide for an overall assessment of the accuracy of the nutrition information provided on all food labels.
Closed – Implemented
In February 1996, FSIS awarded a contract to analyze the nutrition labels on 300 food products. The contractor's report was due in late summer 1996. While the contractor is using a methodology developed by FDA, there is no plan to coordinate FSIS and FDA efforts.
Department of Agriculture The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services should develop a coordinated evaluation strategy that will provide for an overall assessment of the accuracy of the nutrition information provided on all food labels.
Closed – Implemented
In October 1994, FDA issued a report on analytical data from a statistically selected sample of 300 food product labels. While FSIS is using FDA's methodology in its food label analysis, there is no plan to coordinate FDA's and FSIS's efforts.

Full Report

Office of Public Affairs

Topics

Consumer educationConsumer protectionFederal regulationsFood and drug lawFood industryFood inspectionInformation disclosureLabeling lawProduct safetySafety regulation