Food quality control in the food industry is the process of monitoring and verifying food product quality throughout the supply chain1. The ultimate goal is to verify that products meet stringent criteria for safety, taste, appearance, and other factors1. Key procedures in food quality control include2: Product & Recipe Formulation

1. FoodLabeling

2. F
oodLabeling
The goal of food labeling is to provide consumers with
information that is factual and relevant about the products they
consume. Certain label information, such as the responsible firm's
name and address and ingredient declaration, is required. Other
label information, such as health claims and nutrient content
claims,is voluntary.

3. LabelP
anel
• A food packageusuallyhasat least two distinct areas:the Principal
Display Panel and the Information Panel.
• All required information on the label must be presented in a legible
manner. It cannot be concealed in any manner such that it is unlikely that
the consumer will read it.The size of the lettering, unless stated, must be
at least 1/16 inch in height. Labels must be made of materials that do not
contaminate the food. If there is likelihood
that the paper,ink or adhesive of alabel will touch the product or
penetrate the packaging,these materials must be safe for food use.

4. InformationonLabelP
anels
Principal DisplayPanel
Product Name
Net Quantity of Contents
“Perishable Keep Refrigerated”(if applicable)
Information Panel
Nutrition Facts
Ingredients List
Name andAddress of the responsible firm

5. F
oodName
• All foods must be named.This name, which is often called the
"Statement of Identity," can be either the "common name" or a
"fanciful name" of the food. If a fanciful name is used, it must be
accompanied by a descriptive phrase at least 1⁄2 the type size of
the product name.The name has to be truthful and must be
presented in bold type on the Principal Display Panel.
• If it is a"flavored" product, it must state so (e.g., "cherry flavored"
pie). If the flavor is not derived from a natural source, then it
must indicate so (e.g.,"artificial cherry flavored" pie).

6. ResponsibleF
irm
There must be afirm (manufacturer, packer or distributor) identified
on the label as a responsible party. Unless the name given is the
actual manufacturer, it must be accompanied by a qualifying phrase
which states the firm’s relation to the product (e.g., “manufactured
for” or “distributed by”).The firm's name, city, state and zip code
must be declared.If the firm is not listed
in the current telephone guide for that city,the street address
must also be listed.

7. NetQuantity
Requirement
Youshould chooseaprint style that isprominent,
conspicuous andeasyto read.The letters must not be
more than three times as high as they are wide,and
lettering must contrast sufficiently with the background to
beeasyto read. Also, you should not crowd the net
quantity statement with artwork or other labeling
(minimum separation requirements are specified in the
regulation).
What’sIncluded?
Only the quantity of food in the container or package is
stated in the net quantity statement.Do not include the
weight of the container,or wrappers and packing materials.

8. IngredientList
•
•
•
•
•
All packaged foods composed of two or more ingredients are required to include an
ingredient list.
The ingredient statement must be legible and be correctly listed in descending order
of predominance byweight. Ingredients must belisted bytheir common or usual
names (e.g.,sugar instead of sucrose).
Certain ingredients require special declaration.The sub-ingredients of afood that is an
ingredient in another food may be declared following the name of the ingredient. For
example:enriched flour (wheat flour,niacin,reduced iron, riboflavin and folic acid).
Foods with two or more discrete components (e.g.,cherry pie that has filling and pie
crust) mayhaveaseparateingredient list for each of the components, or list all of
them together under one list.
For foods that are sold in bulk,alist of ingredients must be stated on asign or on the
food's original container.

9. F
oodAllergenLabeling
The Food Allergen LabelingandConsumer Protection Act (FALCPA)isan
amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, andCosmetic Act and requires that
the label of afood that contains an ingredient that is or contains protein from
a"major food allergen " declare the presence of the allergen in the manner
described bythe law.FALCPAappliesto both domestically manufactured and
imported packaged foods that are subject to FDA regulation.
"Major FoodAllergen" refers to an ingredient that is one of the following eight
foods or food groups or an ingredient that contains protein derived from one
of them:(1) Milk (2) Eggs(3) Fish (e.g.,bass,flounder,cod) (4) Crustacean
shellfish (e.g.crab,lobster,shrimp) (5)Tree nuts (e.g.,almonds,walnuts,pecans)
(6) Peanuts (7)Wheat (8) Soybeans

10. F
oodAllergensLabeling
Food
manufacturers
are required to
label food
productsthat
are madewith
an ingredient
that is a major
food allergen in
one of the two
ways

11. P
roductD
ateandL
otC
oding
Product dating is optional for most food products.There are two types of dating
on food packaging:
LotCoding
When manufacturers produce aproduct, they do soin batches.Eachbatch is
assigned aunique series of numbers that makes it possible for manufacturers to
track exactly when aproblem occurred and which products need to be recalled.
ExpirationDates
Theseare numbers represented in adate format that are usedto provide a
guideline for consumers sothey will know when afood product iseither no
longer safe to eat or might not taste as good as it did when originally produced.

12. ProductDate&LotCode
ProductDate LotCode

13. NutritionF
acts
•
•
•
Most processedandpackagedfoods (except exempt foods) must
declare information about the foods' nutritional content using the
correct typeface, font size,andformats approved byFDAfor the
"Nutrition Facts" panel.
A simplified format is allowed when the food contains insignificant
amounts of eight or more of the mandatory nutrients (Calories,total fat,
saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol,sodium,total carbohydrate,dietary
fiber,sugar,protein, vitaminA,vitamin,calcium,and iron)
The five core nutrients (Calories,total fat, sodium,total carbohydrate,
and protein) must appear on all“Nutrition Facts” panels regardless of
the amount present in the food or the format used.

14. NutritionF
acts:NewStyle

15. NutritionF
acts:T
ransF
at
The amount of trans fat in a serving must be
listed on a separate line under saturated fat on
the “Nutrition Facts” panel as shown on the
example on this page. However, trans fat does
not have to be listed if the total fat in a food is
less than 0.5 gram (or 1/2 gram) per serving
and no claims are made about fat, fatty acid or
cholesterol content. If trans fat is not listed, a
footnote must be added stating that the food
is "Not a significant source of trans fat."

16. NutrientContentClaims
A “Nutrient Content Claim” isaword or phrase on afood packagethat makesa
comment about the nutritional valueof the food. Eleven(11) basicterms havebeen
defined for several nutrients, and FDA has set conditions for the use of these terms.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
free
low
reduce
d fewer
high
less
more
lean
extra lean
good source
light

17. HealthClaims
A “Health Claim” isafood label messagethat describes the
relationship between afood component,such as fat,calcium,or
fiber,and adisease or health-related condition.
*Nutrient Content Claim indicates the nutritional value of the food.
*Health Claim describes the relationship between afood
component and adisease or health-related condition.

18. Gluten-F
reeRegulations
The regulations define the term “gluten-containing grain” to mean any one of the
following grains(e.g.,wheat, rye, barley) or their crossbred hybrids (e.g.triticale,
which is across between wheat and rye). Under the regulation,a“gluten- free” label
claim means:
A) That the food bearing the “gluten free” claim does not contain any of the following:
•
•
•
An ingredient that is agluten- containing grain (e.g.spelt wheat)
An ingredient derived from agluten-containing grain and that has not been
processed to remove gluten (e.g.wheat flour)
An ingredient that isderived from agluten-containing grain andthat hasbeen
processed to remove gluten (e.g.wheat starch),if the use of that ingredient results
in the presence of 20 parts per million or more gluten in the food
B) The product inherently doesnot contain gluten; andanyunavoidable presence of
gluten in the food bearing the claim in its labeling is below 20 parts per million gluten

19. RefrigeratedF
oods
California law requires that all Potentially Hazardous Foods* have
the statement "PerishableKeepRefrigerated" on the labelin a
conspicuous location,normally on the Principal Display Panel.
The statement "Perishable Keep Frozen" is also acceptable on the
label of foods that are kept frozen.
*Food that is capable of supporting growth of infectious or
toxigenic microorganisms when held at temperatures above 45°°F
.

20. OrganicF
oods
Foods represented as“organic” must meet the requirements of
the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) Regulations and the
CaliforniaOrganic ProductsAct of 2003.
Products may be
•
•
•
100%Organic:100% certified organic ingredients
Organic: 95% certified organic ingredients
Made with Organic:70% and 95% certified organic ingredients

21. SafeHandlingStatements
Rawmeat andpoultry products (e.g.,fresh andfrozen) including
shell eggs must display safe handling instructions,as shown below,
on their labels.The handlinginstructions should addresssafe
storage of raw product,prevention of cross contamination,
cooking of raw product,and/or handling of leftovers.

22. SafeHandlingStatements
The statement must appear
on the label prominently and
in afont size no smaller than
1/16th of an inch.The
statement must appear in a
hairline box and the words
"safehandlinginstructions"
appear in bold capital letters.

23. W
arningNotice
• Protein product that derives more than 50 percent of total caloric value from
either whole protein, protein hydrolysates,and/or amino acid mixtures, and that is
represented for use in reducing weight;
• Dietary supplements containing iron or iron salts;
• Foods containing psyllium husk;
• Self-pressured containers or self-pressured containers with
halocarbon or hydrocarbon propellants;
• Products containing substances that have stimulant laxative effects
Federal and state labeling regulations require certain foods and packages to
declare warning notices. Examples of such products required by the federal
regulation (21 CFR §101.17) include:
•
•
•
•

24. W
arningNotice

25. SmallBusinessNutrition
LabelingExemption
The Federal Food,Drug,and CosmeticAct requires packaged foods and
dietary supplements to bear nutrition labelingunlessthey qualify for an
exemption.One exemption,for low-volume products, applies if the person
claimingthe exemption employsfewer than anaverageof 100 full-time
equivalent employeesand fewer than 100,000 units of that product are
sold in the United States in a12-month period.To qualify for this
exemption the person must file anotice annually with FDA.Note that low
volume products that bear nutrition claims do not qualify for an
exemption of this type.Firms that wish to submit an exemption notice
usingthe Internet cangoto https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/NLE/
client/login.cfm

26. Q
uestio
n&F
urtherG
uidance
FDB
fdbinfo@cdph.ca.gov
1500 Capitol Ave.,MS-7602,P.O.Box 997435,Sacramento,CA 95899-7435
(916) 650-6500
For questions about labeling laws and regulations,please contact FDB.
Please note that FDB does not approve labels.It is the responsibility of the firm identified
on the label to makesure that the information on its label isaccurate, truthful, andin
compliance with pertinent laws and regulations.
USDA-FSISMeat andPoultryHotLine
http://askkaren.gov
For questions regarding the labeling of foods containing more than 3 percent meat or
poultry products,please contact USDA-FSISMeat and Poultry Hot Line.
NewBusinessPracticum- FurtherGuidance
wkell@berkeley.edu (William A. Kell)

27. ThankY
ou.