This year, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule on a front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labeling info box that could help consumers quickly and easily identify how foods can be part of a healthy diet…. And all comments must be received this week. Either electronic or written comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by May 16, 2025.
The FDA website explains the proposed rule:
The FDA is proposing to require a front-of-package (FOP) nutrition label on most packaged foods to provide accessible, at-a-glance information to help consumers quickly and easily identify how foods can be part of a healthy diet. The FDA’s proposed FOP nutrition label, referred to as the Nutrition Info box, would complement the Nutrition Facts label that is required on most food packages. Displaying simplified, at-a-glance, nutrition information that details and interprets the saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar content of a food as “Low,” “Med,” or “High” on the front of food packages would provide consumers with an accessible description of the numerical information found in the Nutrition Facts label. Current federal dietary recommendations advise U.S. consumers to limit these three nutrients to achieve a nutrient-dense diet within calorie limits.
Weights and Measures Rules
If you are in the food processing industry you need to ensure that the amount in the package when the consumer purchases it, matches the amount noted on the label. Nutrition information, whether it’s on the front or the back of the package, is based on per serving, and labels note how many servings are in the container. If the quantity of content does not match the servings per container listed, consumers may be confused about the nutrition they are receiving.
The U.S., the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) provides a procedural guide for the compliance testing of net content statements on packaged goods. Compliance testing of packaged goods is the determination of the conformance of the results of the packaging, distribution, and retailing process (the packages) to specific legal requirements for net content declarations. (Ref NIST Handbook 133 – Current Edition 2025).
Here’s an excerpt on the scope of the US NIST regulations:
1.2.2. Average Requirement. In general, the average net quantity of contents of packages in a lot must at least equal the net quantity of contents declared on the label. Plus or minus variations from the declared net weight, measure, or count are permitted when they are caused by unavoidable variations in weighing, measuring, or counting the contents of individual packages that occur in current good manufacturing practice. Such variations must not be permitted to the extent that the average of the quantities in the packages of a particular commodity or a lot of the commodity that is kept, offered, exposed for sale, or sold, is below the stated quantity.
The NIST document also provides Test Procedures for Packages Labeled by Weight – Gravimetric Testing, For Packages Labeled by Volume, and For Packages Labeled by Count, Linear Measure, Area, Thickness, and Combinations of Quantities.
Checkweighing Can Help Ensure You Meet Regulations
If you are in the food processing industry, a checkweigher is a crucial component of your quality control program to help meet the regulations.
As the name suggests, a food checkweigher is equipment used for reliable weight control to check and confirm that the weight of food goods inline or after packaging during final inspection against a predefined weight limit specified on the package. They can also count and reject for a seamless quality control solution even in rugged plant environments. A checkweigher weighs every product in motion, so they are useful for qualitative food inspection as significant variations in product weight may be indicative of missing components – helping to confirm that your products match the as-stated weight on packaging labels, and helping to ensure compliance with regional and international package weight standards.
Checkweighers can also help reduce the risk of consumer disappointment followed by backlash on social media. Finding less content than expected, and getting less for their money, could spark negative feedback and hurt your brand.
Not only do checkweighers help with regulation compliance and meeting customer expectations, but they also support productivity, throughput, and the bottom line. Checkweighing technology provides a repeatable and precise measure of food weight to minimize product giveaway. A consumer may not complain about getting more than they paid for, but every extra ounce eats into company profits.
Additional Resources:
- ebook A Practical Guide to Checkweighing and Checkweighers
- USFDA Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling Information – https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-food-labeling-and-critical-foods/front-package-nutrition-labeling
- NIST Handbook 133 – Current Edition 2025 – https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm/nist-handbook-133-current-edition
