FDA Moves to Modernize
Standards of Identity
BY RON TANNER
F
ollowing a 15-year hiatus, the Food &
Drug Administration is moving toward
modernizing the food standards of identity.
In 2005, the FDA and the USDA Food Safety
and Inspection Service proposed a rule to modernize
these standards, many of which were more than 60
years old, long before ingredient listings and the
nutrition labels were required on food products.
The standards were originally established to protect
the public from food adulteration because some
manufacturers were adding extenders and other non-
nutritive additives to food yet still calling products
by common names. Also, some standards appeared
to be supportive of the major manufacturers that
dominated the food industry in the 1950s and 1960s.
For instance, ketchup could only be comprised of
tomatoes. And some of the standards, for products
such as Chicken Kiev and Frozen Cherry Pie, were
decidedly outdated. There are currently more than
270 FDA standards of identity and over 80 FSIS
standards of identity.
According to FDA, modernizing food
standards would:
• Better promote honesty and fair
dealing in the interest of consumers
and protect the public
• Allow for technological advances
in food production
• Be consistent with international food
standards to the extent feasible; and
• Be clear, simple, and easy to use
for both manufacturers and the
governmental agencies
USDA and FDA did not finalize the proposed
rule in 2005 "due to resource constraints and
competing priorities."
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