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 In this section:

                Food Labeling & Nutrition

Food Labeling & Nutrition

                        FDA’s Nutrition Initiatives
          Label Claims for Food & Dietary Supplements
          Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label
          Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling
          Use of the Term Healthy on Food Labeling
          Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods
          Standards of Identity for Food
          Menu and Vending Machine Labeling
          Plant-Based Milk Alternatives (PBMA)
          Nutrition Labeling Information for Restaurants & Retail Establishments


                        Food Allergies
          Nutrition Education Resources & Materials Home
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          Food Labeling & Nutrition
          Standards of Identity for FoodFood Labeling & Nutrition Standards of Identity for Food
  
  	
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    PrintThe FDA began establishing Standards of Identity (SOI) in 1939, and since then, the agency has established more than 250 SOIs. Products like milk, milk chocolate, various breads, peanut butter, and ketchup have a SOI. SOIs often describe in detail what a food must contain and what is optional and sometimes describe the amount or proportion of ingredients or components. Many SOIs also prescribe a method of production or formulation.

The FDA is updating its SOI program with the goal of maintaining the basic nature and essential characteristics of standardized foods while permitting flexibility with respect to their composition.

**Background**

SOIs were first established in 1939 to help address economic adulteration that was occurring in the marketplace. For example, there were products that were represented as jams containing fruit, but the products contained little fruit (e.g., the SOI for fruit preserves and jams requires that products represented as jam contain a minimum amount of fruit).

SOIs were developed to help protect consumers and promote honesty and fair dealing.  SOIs have been established to ensure that the characteristics, ingredients and production processes of specific foods are consistent with what consumers expect. Today, economic adulteration is no longer such a prominent issue for most foods, and changes in food labeling requirements give consumers more information about the foods they buy (e.g., nutrition information, ingredient lists, and food allergens). However, the establishment of food standards may still benefit consumers in some cases by ensuring honesty and fair dealing.

The FDA’s work to update SOIs falls into three categories:

**Establishing principles** to more transparently communicate what the agency will consider when determining whether to revise, eliminate, or establish a food standard;
	Updating individual SOIs to **allow for continued innovation** in the marketplace, including updating SOIs to reflect modern technologies and processing methods; and
	Updating SOIs to ensure they are **supporting the production and innovation of healthier food**.Recent Actions
	**Canned Tuna.** FDA issued a proposed rule to revise the standard of identity and standard of fill of container for canned tuna.
	**Pasteurized Orange Juice.**The FDA issued a request for information in August 2023 on a citizen petition asking the FDA to amend the standard of identity for pasteurized orange juice by lowering the minimum soluble solids content, known as the Brix level.

	**Salt Substitutes and Standards of Identity.**  The FDA issued a proposed rule in April 2023 to amend the standards of identity (SOIs) to permit the use of salt substitutes in foods for which salt is a required or optional ingredient. The proposed rule would provide manufacturers with flexibility and facilitate industry innovation to reduce sodium in standardized foods.

	**French Dressing.** The FDA issued a final rule in January 2022 revoking the SOI for French dressing because it is outdated.  Based on information submitted to the FDA, consumers appear to expect French dressing to have certain characteristics not required by the standard, such as containing tomatoes or tomato-derived ingredients.  Products tend to maintain these characteristics in the absence of requirements for them.

	**Frozen Cherry Pie.** The agency proposed in December 2020 to revoke the SOI and standard of quality for frozen cherry pie. The standards do not appear necessary to ensure that these products meet consumer expectations, and the FDA has tentatively concluded that they are no longer necessary to promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers and may limit flexibility for innovation.

	**Cheeses and Ultrafiltered (UF) Milk.** In April 2020, the FDA re-opened the comment period on a proposed rule to permit the use of fluid UF milk and fluid UF nonfat milk in the production of standardized cheeses and related cheese products.  Reopening the comment period allows the FDA to solicit any new information, including current industry practices, regarding the use of fluid UF milk and fluid UF nonfat milk in cheesemaking and on labeling of fluid UF milk and fluid UF nonfat milk when used as ingredients.

	Current Activities
	**General Principles.** The FDA is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a set of general principles to use when considering whether to revise, eliminate, or establish a food standard. This is being informed, in part, by comments received when the FDA reopened the comment period in February 2020 on a joint FDA-USDA rule proposed in 2005 to establish a set of general principles for food standards.

	**Yogurt.** The FDA reviewed objections submitted by the International Dairy Foods Association and Chobani in July 2021 to certain provisions in the final ruleto amend the yogurt standard of identity. The FDA issued the final rule to amend the yogurt SOI in June 2021. On March 22, 2022, the FDA published a notice to clarify that the effective dates of certain provisions of the yogurt standard of identity final rule have been stayed. On December 14, 2022, the FDA responded to several objections and requests for a hearing on provisions in the yogurt standard of identity final rule. The FDA denied the requests for a hearing and modified certain provisions in the final rule. On April 14, 2023, the FDA issued a final order to modify the yogurt standard of identity final rule with respect to maximum pH. The compliance date is January 1, 2024. Additional details can be found in the Federal Register notice.

	**Cheeses and Ultrafiltered Milk.** The agency is finalizing a rule to amend SOI regulations for certain cheeses to allow for the use of fluid ultrafiltered milk, which would support innovation in cheesemaking. The FDA issued a proposed rule to amend the regulations to provide for the use of fluid ultrafiltered milk in the manufacture of standardized cheeses and related cheese products on October 19, 2005. and re-opened the comment period on the proposed rule in April 2020.

	**Partially Hydrogenated Oils.** To facilitate the production of healthier standardized foods, the FDA is amending all SOIs that allow the inclusion of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) to no longer list PHOs as an optional ingredient. The FDA previously determined that PHOs, which are the primary dietary source of artificial trans fat in processed foods, are no longer generally recognized as safe.

	**Substitute Ingredients.** The FDA is exploring how it can facilitate the production of healthier standardized foods to allow for substitute ingredients through a horizontal approach. Under such an approach, all SOIs that permit or require a particular ingredient could be modified in one rulemaking to permit a substitute ingredient(s). This approach could be used for a substitute ingredient that could make foods healthier.

	**Citizens Petitions.**The FDA continues to review citizen petitions regarding SOIs, such as a request to establish a SOI for olive oil and olive pomace oil and a request to amend the SOI for maple syrup.

	Standards of Identity for Specific Foods
	SOIs for specific food products may be found in 21 C.F.R. Chapter 1, Subchapter B, Parts 131-169. Within each standard listed below, there may be standards for multiple products.

	Milk and Cream
		Cheeses and Related Cheese Products
		Frozen Desserts
		Bakery Products
		Cereal Flours and Related Products
		Macaroni and Noodle Products
		Canned Fruits
		Canned Fruit Juices
		Fruit Butters, Jellies, Preserves, and Related Products
		Fruit Pies
		Canned Vegetables
		Vegetable Juices
		Frozen Vegetables
		Eggs and Egg Products
		Fish and Shellfish
		Cacao Products
		Tree Nuts and Peanut Products
		Beverages
		Margarine
		Sweeteners and Table Sirups
		Food Dressings and Flavorings

	**For More Information**

	Public Meeting on Horizontal Approaches to Food Standards of Identity Modernization
		Standards of Identity (21 C.F.R. Chapter 1, Subchapter B, Parts 131-169)
		Labeling & Nutrition Guidance Documents & Regulatory Information |- Food Standards

                                                                                  Content current as of:
      08/24/2023
              
              
Regulated Product(s)
		 Food & BeveragesFood Labeling & Nutrition

          
                        FDA’s Nutrition Initiatives
          Label Claims for Food & Dietary Supplements
          Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label
          Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling
          Use of the Term Healthy on Food Labeling
          Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods
          Standards of Identity for Food
          Menu and Vending Machine Labeling
          Plant-Based Milk Alternatives (PBMA)
          Nutrition Labeling Information for Restaurants & Retail Establishments


                        Food Allergies
          Nutrition Education Resources & Materials
 
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