Tuesday March 12, 2013

NCA Front-Of-Pack Labeling Program Proposed

Washington, D.C. — A front-of-pack (FOP) labeling program tailored to the confectionery industry to provide consumers with useful information at point of purchase has been proposed by the NCA’s Public Policy Committee.

The Treat Right program requires an item’s calories per serving to be clearly displayed on the front of each pack, taking into account pack size.

NCA President Larry Graham says that after examining many options the public policy team elected to move forward with a calorie-only approach for candy. For products such as candy, which are clearly treats in the diet and not consumed for nutrients, calories are the most relevant information to consumers, he explains.

The Association’s Board of Trustees voted to approve Treat Right on February 24 at the State of the Industry Conference in Miami. The program has been in the works for two years. Although numerous industry-wide FOP schemes exist, the NCA says its voluntary system will provide as much consistency as possible with other schemes while remaining flexible.

Among the guidelines, the FOP label must be a rounded rectangular shape and be positioned on the principal display panel (PDP). A definite contrast between solid-color backgrounds and solid-color fonts is required. The number of calories must be the largest type size in the icon; minimum type size is based on the space of the PDP area.

Because of their size, packages with less than 12 square inches of space are exempt. In addition, because of their negligible calorie content, gum and mints are also exempt, in addition to gift items, since the packaging already lists nutrition information.

One of the NCA’s primary objectives in 2013 will be to educate its membership on the program and will provide a style guide, icon guide and full staff support. The Association will hold a FOP labeling webinar on March 19 at 4 p.m. EST and a summary document is available at this link.