FDA Finalizes Updated “Healthy” Nutrient Content Claim and Nuts Are In!

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a final rule to update the “healthy” nutrient content claim to help consumers identify foods that are particularly useful as the foundation of a diet that is consistent with dietary recommendations. Manufacturers can voluntarily use the claim on a food package if the product meets the updated criteria. The “healthy” claim can empower consumers by providing a quick signal on food package labels to help consumers identify foundational foods for building healthy dietary patterns. Diet-related chronic diseases in the U.S. are the leading causes of death and disability and many of these chronic diseases are experienced at higher rates by certain racial and ethnic minority groups and those with lower socioeconomic status, compared to the overall average. Healthy eating patterns, which include foundational foods like fruits, vegetables, fat-free and low-fat dairy, and whole grains, are associated with improved health, such as reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancers, and being overweight or obese. Providing informative and accessible food labeling empowers consumers and may help foster a healthier food supply for all if some manufacturers voluntarily reformulate food products to meet the updated criteria. The updated criteria for the “healthy” claim are aligned with current nutrition science, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the updated Nutrition Facts label, which requires the declaration of added sugars. The updated criteria for the “healthy” claim include nutrients to limit and identifies foods that help consumers to build a diet consistent with current recommendations. To bear the “healthy” claim, a food product needs to:

  • Contain a certain amount of food (food group equivalent) from at least one of the food groups or subgroups (such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, fat-free and low-fat dairy etc.) recommended by the Dietary Guidelines.  
  • Adhere to specified limits for the following nutrients: saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. 

As an example, to include the “healthy” claim on the package, a cereal needs to contain a certain amount of whole grains and adhere to limits for saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars. Nuts and seeds, higher fat fish, such as salmon, certain oils, and water are examples of foods that did not qualify for the “healthy” claim before but are foundational to a healthy eating pattern and recommended by the Dietary Guidelines. These foods now qualify to bear the “healthy” claim.  Manufacturers who choose to use the “healthy” claim have three years to conform but can use the new criteria sooner.   The FDA will host a stakeholder webinar to provide an overview of the final rule and address questions.

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Governor Signs Ag Overtime Bill

Ignoring the pleas of real farmworkers and the agricultural industry, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today signed AB 1066, the ag overtime legislation. This means that California will have the most stringent trigger of any state in the country for overtime for farmworkers, with 45 states having no overtime protection at all. The Governor signed this bill, supposedly to bring “equality to all workers”, yet taxi cab drivers, commercial fishermen, car salesmen, student nurses, computer programmers, and carnival workers all work without any overtime provisions whatsoever. The Governor signed this ag overtime bill in the same year that minimum wage legislation was also passed that will take California to the highest minimum wage as well as legislation forcing California to adopt additional greenhouse gas regulations for businesses in California. California is the only state in the country subject to such regulations. Today’s signing occurred despite numerous requests by the agricultural industry to meet with the Governor to discuss our concerns. The message is clear. California simply doesn’t care. These provisions will be phased in over the next few years ending with the overtime provisions to be triggered at 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

In the Beginning As folks transitioned out of cotton and into tree nuts, the industry recognized the need to have active and effective representation at the local, state and national levels. Having enjoyed such effective representation over the years from the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, these folks yearned for the same representation in the tree nut processing industry. Issues such as air quality, food safety, labor, taxes, employee safety, and environmental concerns are at the forefront, and there is a significant need for an aggressive and dynamic Association to lead the industry into the next decade and beyond. In recognition of this, the Western Agricultural Processors Association was created in 2009. The Western Agricultural Processors Association (WAPA) shares staff and office space with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations taking advantage of a unique and opportunistic situation. WAPA is a voluntary dues organization with four shared staff and one dedicated staff person. Regulatory, legislative and legal issues fall under the purview of this new organization for the tree nut processing industry, which includes almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts. From air quality permits to conditional use permits, from regulatory hearings on greenhouse gases to federal legislation on food safety, and from OSHA violations to assisting members on hazardous materials business plans, no issue is too small or too large for WAPA. WAPA has assembled one of the best and most capable staffs in the industry, and the results are already starting to show Membership The Western Agricultural Processors Association represents facilities involved in the processing of almonds, pecans, pistachios and walnuts.Membership in the Association is classified as Regular memberships are limited to almond hullers or processors, pecan and pistachio processors, and walnut dehydrators and processors. Associate memberships are limited to any individual or business entity which is not engaged in agricultural processing, but which provides products or services directly related to the agricultural processing industry. WAPA Associate members include, but are not limited to, commodity brokers, accounting firms, and insurance brokers. Organization The Western Agricultural Processors Association is governed by a Board of Directors, elected by its membership.The Board consists of up to 15 members from throughout the state, and throughout the industry.The Board meets on a quarterly basis and conducts an Annual Meeting in the spring of each year.WAPA, in conjunction with the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations, conducts a special training school for its members focused on safety.In combination with the school, the Association holds a Labor Management Seminar for all of the managers. Consulting Services In researching and considering the concept of forming a new organization, the Boards of Directors for the California Cotton Ginners and Growers Associations instructed staff to perform some of the work on a consulting basis first. The point was to determine the workload from consulting and to determine if there was sufficient interest. In November of 2007, the Association began conducting services under consulting contracts for such services as air quality permits and safety plans.The effort has been so successful that demand has progressed outside the tree nut industry into other agricultural processing facilities, including vegetable dehydration facilities, tomato processing facilities, and wheat mills, as well as cotton gins in Arizona.It was determined by the new Board of Directors of WAPA, that WAPA would maintain the consulting services to provide offsetting income to help with the expenses of getting the new organization up and running.Today, WAPA provides for a long list of satisfied clients in the agricultural processing industry, by providing critical services such as air quality, safety, food safety, and environmental issues (Hazardous Materials Business Plan, Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plans, etc.).