How are serving sizes determined, and how can you ensure that your product has the right serving size on its label?
This topic can seem daunting at first when noticing the huge variety of food labels available on the market. However, the FDA provides standards and guidelines that can help you determine what the appropriate serving size for your product is. In this blog, we will provide you with some simple guidelines to help you get started in this process.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for setting serving sizes for most packaged foods. They do this by looking at data from national surveys on food consumption to determine how much of that food people typically eat in one sitting. For example, if they're trying to determine the serving size for a type of cereal, they might look at how much cereal people usually pour into their bowl for breakfast.
The FDA also considers the nutritional content of the food when establishing the serving size. Foods that are higher in calories, fat, or sugar may have a smaller serving size compared to foods that are lower in these nutrients. This helps ensure that the serving size accurately reflects the amount of calories and other nutrients in the food.
Taking all of this information into account, the FDA has standardized serving sizes for similar products by establishing Reasonable Amounts Customarily Consumed (also known as the “RACC'') for different product categories. This information is readily accessible to all food manufacturers in one of the FDA’s published resources titled “Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed: List of Products for Each Product Category: Guidance for Industry”
Abiding by these regulations is very important because it enables customers to be able to compare nutritional information for similar products and also guides food manufacturers to ensure that their products are properly labeled and follow industry standards.
Determining the serving size of your product is imperative to ensuring that your product’s label is compliant with regulations. Contact a professional food consultant today by visiting our website at www.roybalfood.com to learn more about this topic and how it applies to your product today!
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