Nutrition facts label
Additionally, there is a requirement for ingredients to be listed in order from highest to lowest quantity, according to their weight.
The label was mandated for most food products under the provisions of the 1990 Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), per the recommendations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It was one of several controversial actions taken during the tenure of FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler. The law required food companies to begin using the new food label on packaged foods beginning May 8, 1994. (Meat and poultry products were not covered by NLEA, though the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed similar regulations for voluntary labeling of raw meat and poultry.) Foods labeled before that day could use the old label. This appeared on all products in 1995. The old label was titled "Nutrition Information Per Serving" or simply, "Nutrition Information".
Child Nutrition Act
In the fall of 2009 the Institute of Medicine recommended updates and revisions to the school lunch and breakfast programs, at the request of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The committee reviewed the current regulations for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program Nutrition Standards and Meal Requirements. The planning model used to develop current nutritional standards and related meal requirements is based on legislation (USDA,1995) that provided specifications for use of 1995 Dietary Guidelines for American and the 1989 Recommended Dietary Allowances (NRC, 1989). To meet its task, the IOM committee also reviewed and assessed the food and nutritional needs of school-aged children in the United States using the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans set by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and USDA, as well as the IOM’s Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI). The committee recommends numerous revisions and that emphasis be placed on revised Meal Requirements rather than on nutrients per se. The committee’s recommended new approach clearly focuses on providing meals that are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The final report, "School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children" was released in November 2009. The committee recommended that the USDA adopt standards for menu planning, including:On January 13, 2011, the USDA published new proposed regulations in the Federal Register based on the IOM recommendations, as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.