Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990

Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleTo amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prescribe nutrition labeling for foods, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)NLE Act, "NL&E Act"
Enacted bythe 101st United States Congress
EffectiveNovember 8, 1990
Citations
Public law101-535
Statutes at Large104 Stat. 2353
Codification
Acts amendedFederal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
Titles amended21 U.S.C.: Food and Drugs
U.S.C. sections amendedChapter 9 § 301
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 3562 by Henry Waxman (D–CA) on October 31, 1989
  • Committee consideration by House Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Passed the House on July 30, 1990 (passed voice vote)
  • Passed the Senate on October 24, 1990 (passed voice vote) with amendment
  • House agreed to Senate amendment on October 26, 1990 (passed voice vote)
  • Signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on November 8, 1990
United States Supreme Court cases
New York State Restaurant Association v. New York City Board of Health

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) (Public Law 101-535) is a 1990 United States Federal law. It was signed into law on November 8, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush.[1]

The law gives the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to require nutrition labeling of most foods regulated by the Agency; and to require that all nutrient content claims (for example, 'high fiber', 'low fat', etc.) and health claims meet FDA regulations.[2] The act did not require restaurants to comply with the same standards.

The regulations became effective for health claims, ingredient declarations, and percent juice labeling on May 8, 1993 (but percent juice labeling was exempted until May 8, 1994).[2]

Effective Jan. 1, 2006, the Nutrition Facts Labels on packaged food products are required by the FDA to list how many grams of trans fatty acid (trans fat) are contained within one serving of the product.[1]

  1. ^ a b "Nutrition Labeling AHA Advocacy Position". American Heart Association.
  2. ^ a b "Nutritional Labeling". United States Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007.