I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3147 
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to strengthen require-
ments related to nutrient information on food labels, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 
Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Ms. DELAURO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to 
strengthen requirements related to nutrient information 
on food labels, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2013’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Additional requirements for front-of-packaging (FOP) labeling for proc-
essed foods. 
Sec. 3. Claims for conventional foods. 
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Sec. 4. Use of specific terms. 
Sec. 5. Modernization of the Nutrition Facts Panel. 
Sec. 6. Ingredient labels. 
Sec. 7. Caffeine content on information panel. 
Sec. 8. Effective date; regulations. 
Sec. 9. Definitions. 
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FRONT-OF-PACK-
AGING (FOP) LABELING FOR PROCESSED 
FOODS. 
(a) SUMMARY
NUTRITION
LABELING
INFORMA-
TION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403 of the Federal 
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(z)(1) Except as provided in subparagraphs (3), (4), 
and (5) of paragraph (q), if it is food (other than a dietary 
supplement) intended for human consumption and is of-
fered for sale and otherwise required to bear nutrition la-
beling, unless its principal display panel bears summary 
nutrition information that reflects the overall nutritional 
value of the food or specified ingredients, as specified in 
accordance with regulations of the Secretary, and does not 
contain any summary nutritional information which is in 
addition to or inconsistent with the information required 
under this subparagraph.’’. 
(2) PRINCIPLES FOR IMPLEMENTING REGULA-
TIONS.—In promulgating regulations regarding the 
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summary nutrition information required under the 
amendment made by paragraph (1), the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall take into account 
published reports of the Institute of Medicine of the 
National Academy of Sciences regarding such infor-
mation and base regulations on the following prin-
ciples: 
(A) There should be a single simple, stand-
ard symbol system that displays calorie infor-
mation related to a common serving size, and 
information related to nutrients strongly associ-
ated with public health concerns. 
(B) Consumers should be able to quickly 
and easily comprehend the meaning of the sym-
bol system as an indicator of a product’s con-
tribution to a healthy diet. 
(C) The information should appear on all 
products that are required to bear nutrition la-
beling. 
(D) The information should— 
(i) appear in a consistent location on 
the principal display panels across prod-
ucts; 
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(ii) have a prominent design that vis-
ually contrasts with existing packaging de-
sign; and 
(iii) be sufficiently large. 
(E) The nutrition information should be 
consistent with the Nutrition Facts Panel and 
with the recommendations of the Dietary 
Guidelines of Americans. 
(F) The information should aim to facili-
tate consumer selection of healthy product op-
tions, including among nutritionally at-risk sub-
populations. 
(G) The Secretary should periodically 
evaluate the front-of-package information to as-
sess its ability to help facilitate consumer selec-
tion of healthy product options and the extent 
to which manufacturers are offering healthier 
products as a result of the disclosure. 
(H) The implementation of the information 
disclosure should be accompanied by appro-
priate consumer education and promotion cam-
paigns determined by the Secretary. 
(b) PERCENTAGE OF WHEAT AND GRAINS IN GRAIN- 
BASED PRODUCTS.—Section 403(z) of the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343(z)), as added by 
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subsection (a)(1), is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(2) If, in the case of food other than a dietary sup-
plement, the principal display panel bears— 
‘‘(A) the phrase ‘made with whole grain’, the 
term ‘multigrain’, or similar descriptive phrases, 
terms, or representations with respect to whole grain 
content, unless the amount of whole grains, ex-
pressed as a percentage of total grains, is conspicu-
ously disclosed in immediate proximity to such de-
scriptive phrase, term, or representation; or 
‘‘(B) the terms ‘wheat’ or ‘whole wheat’ on 
breads, pasta, crackers, or similar wheat-based prod-
ucts, unless the percentage of whole wheat by weight 
contained in the food is conspicuously declared in 
immediate proximity to that term or there is a con-
spicuous declaration that the food ‘contains no whole 
wheat’ in immediate proximity to that term.’’. 
(c) SWEETENERS, COLORING, AND FLAVORING.— 
Section 403(z) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act (21 U.S.C. 343(z)) is further amended by adding at 
the end the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(3) If, in the case of food other than a dietary sup-
plement, it bears or contains any added artificial or nat-
ural coloring, any added artificial or natural non-caloric 
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sweetener, or any added artificial or natural flavoring, un-
less such fact is prominently stated on the principal dis-
play panel of a package or container of the food.’’. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The second sen-
tence of section 403(k) of the Federal Food, Drug, and 
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343(k)) is amended by striking 
‘‘and (i)’’ and inserting ‘‘, (i), and (z)’’. 
(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 
construed as affecting any requirement in regulation in 
effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act with 
respect to matters that are required to be stated on the 
principal display panel of a package or container of food 
that is not required by an amendment made by this section 
or as restricting the authority of the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services to require additional information be 
disclosed on such a principal display panel. 
SEC. 3. CLAIMS FOR CONVENTIONAL FOODS. 
(a) STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION CLAIMS.— 
(1) GUIDANCE.—Not later than one year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall issue comprehen-
sive guidance clarifying the application of section 
403(r) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
(21 U.S.C. 343(r)) with respect to the mechanisms 
by which a nutrient in food (other than a dietary 
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supplement) is intended to affect the structure or 
any function of the human body, or characterize the 
documented mechanism by which a nutrient in such 
food acts to maintain such structure or function. 
(2) 
SUBSTANTIATION
OF
CLAIM.—Section 
403(r) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
(21 U.S.C. 343(r)) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraph (7) as 
subparagraph (8); and 
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (6) 
the following: 
‘‘(7) If the Secretary requests that a claim 
under paragraph (r)(1)(B) for food (other than a di-
etary supplement) be substantiated, then not later 
than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary 
makes such request, the manufacturer shall provide 
to the Secretary all documentation in the manufac-
turer’s possession relating to the claim.’’. 
(b) TRANS FATS.—Section 403(r)(2)(A) of the Fed-
eral Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
343(r)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in subclause (iii)— 
(A) in the matter before item (I), by strik-
ing ‘‘fat or saturated fat’’ and inserting ‘‘fat, 
saturated fat, or trans fats’’; and 
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(B) in item (II), by striking ‘‘fat or satu-
rated fat’’ and inserting ‘‘fat, saturated fat, or 
trans fats’’; 
(2) in subclause (iv), by striking ‘‘saturated 
fat’’ and inserting ‘‘saturated fat or trans fats’’ each 
place it appears; 
(3) by redesignating subclauses (v) and (vi) as 
subclauses (vi) and (vii), respectively; and 
(4) by inserting after subclause (iv) the fol-
lowing new subclause: 
‘‘(v) may not be made with respect to the level 
of trans fats in the food unless the food contains less 
than one gram of saturated fat per serving or, if the 
food contains more than one gram of saturated fat 
per serving, unless the label or labeling of the food 
discloses the level of saturated fat in the food in im-
mediate proximity to such claim and with appro-
priate prominence which shall be no less than one- 
half the size of the claim with respect to the level 
of trans fats,’’. 
SEC. 4. USE OF SPECIFIC TERMS. 
(a) USE OF THE TERM ‘‘NATURAL’’.—Section 403 
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
343), as amended by section 2, is further amended by add-
ing at the end the following new paragraph: 
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‘‘(aa) If, in the case of food other than a dietary sup-
plement, the label bears the term ‘natural’ and the food 
contains any artificial ingredient (including any artificial 
flavor or artificial color), including— 
‘‘(1) any ingredient that is synthesized but has 
the same chemical structure as a naturally occurring 
ingredient; 
‘‘(2) any ingredient that has undergone chem-
ical changes, such as corn syrup, high-fructose corn 
syrup, high-maltose corn syrup, maltodextrin, chemi-
cally modified starch, cocoa processed with alkali, 
but not including— 
‘‘(A) food that has undergone traditional 
processes used to make food edible, to preserve 
food, or to make food safe for human consump-
tion (such as smoking, roasting, freezing, dry-
ing, and fermenting processes); or 
‘‘(B) food that has undergone traditional 
physical processes that do not fundamentally 
alter the raw product or which only separate a 
whole intact food into component parts (such as 
grinding grains, separating eggs into albumen 
and yolk, or pressing fruits to produce juice); or 
‘‘(3) any other artificially-created ingredient 
that the Secretary specifies in regulations.’’. 
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(b) USE OF TERM ‘‘HEALTHY’’.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall revise the regulations 
under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act relating 
to the use of the term ‘‘healthy’’ on the label of a food 
(other than a dietary supplement) to take into account the 
extent to which such food contains added sugars or whole 
grains. In the case of a food (other than a dietary supple-
ment) that contains grains, in revising such regulations, 
the Secretary shall not consider the food to be ‘‘healthy’’ 
unless at least half of those grains, by weight, are whole 
grains. 
SEC. 5. MODERNIZATION OF THE NUTRITION FACTS PANEL. 
(a) DISCLOSURE OF CALORIE INFORMATION.—Sec-
tion 403(q)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act (21 U.S.C. 343(q)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by striking the period at the end of clause 
(E) and inserting a comma; 
(2) by inserting after clause (E) the following 
new clause: 
‘‘(F) in the case of food other than a die-
tary supplement— 
‘‘(i) the percent of recommended daily 
calories that are provided by one serving of 
the product, based on a recommended daily 
consumption of calories determined by the 
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Secretary to be appropriate for members of 
the general population; and 
‘‘(ii) at the discretion of the Sec-
retary, the percent of recommended daily 
calories that are provided by one serving of 
the product— 
‘‘(I) for members of any sub-
population identified by the Secretary; 
and 
‘‘(II) based on a recommended 
daily consumption of calories deter-
mined by the Secretary to be appro-
priate for members of such subpopula-
tion.’’; and 
(3) by adding, after the flush text following 
clause (F), as added by paragraph (2), the following: 
‘‘The information required under clause (C)(i) shall, 
in the case of food other than a dietary supplement, 
appear in a typeface and design which is more 
prominent and conspicuous than that used for other 
information required under this subparagraph.’’. 
(b) SERVING SIZE.—Section 403(q)(1)(A)(i) of the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
343(q)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or, in the case 
of a food (other than a dietary supplement) that is pack-
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