603-029-1036 Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed per Eating Occasion (1) The general principles followed in arriving at the reference amounts customarily consumed per eating occasion (Reference Amount(s)), as set forth in paragraph 2 of this section, are: (a) The Reference Amounts are calculated for persons 4 years of age or older to reflect the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion by persons in this population group. These Reference Amounts are based on data set forth in appropriate national food consumption surveys. (b) The Reference Amounts are calculated for an infant or child under 4 years of age to reflect the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion by infants up to 12 months of age or by children 1 through 3 years of age, respectively. These Reference Amounts are based on data set forth in appropriate national food consumption surveys. Such Reference Amounts are to be used only when the product is specially formulated or processed for use by an infant or by a child under 4 years of age. (c) An appropriate national food consumption survey includes a large sample size representative of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the relevant population group and must be based on consumption data under actual conditions of use. (d) To determine the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion, the mean, median, and mode of the consumed amount per eating occasion were considered. (e) When survey data were insufficient, FSIS took various other sources of information on serving sizes of food into consideration. These other sources of information included: (A) Serving sizes used in dietary guidance recommendations or recommended by other authoritative systems or organizations; (B) Serving sizes recommended in comments; (C) Serving sizes used by manufacturers and grocers; and (D) Serving sizes used by other countries. (f) Because they reflect the amount customarily consumed, the Reference Amount and, in turn, the serving size declared on the product label are based on only the edible portion of food, and not bone, seed, shell, or other inedible components. (g) The Reference Amount is based on the major intended use of the product (e.g., a mixed dish measurable with a cup as a main dish and not as a side dish). (h) The Reference Amounts for products that are consumed as an ingredient of other products, but that may also be consumed in the form in which they are purchased (e.g., ground beef), are based on use in the form purchased. (i) The Department sought to ensure that foods that have similar dietary usage, product characteristics, and customarily consumed amounts have a uniform Reference Amount. The following Product Categories and Reference Amounts shall be used as the basis for determining serving sizes for specific products: See Table 1 and Table 2 —603-029-1036.pdf (2) For products that have no Reference Amount listed in section (1) of this rule for the unprepared or the prepared form of the product and that consist of two or more foods packaged and presented to be consumed together (e.g., lunch meat with cheese and crackers), the Reference Amount for the combined product shall be determined using the following rules: (a) For bulk products, the Reference Amount for the combined product shall be the Reference Amount, as established in section (1) of this rule, for the ingredient that is represented as the main ingredient plus proportioned amounts of all minor ingredients. (b) For products where the ingredient represented as the main ingredient is one or more discrete units, the Reference Amount for the combined product shall be either the number of small discrete units or the fraction of the large discrete unit that is represented as the main ingredient that is closest to the Reference Amount for that ingredient as established in section (1) of this rule plus proportioned amounts of all minor ingredients. (c) If the Reference Amounts are in compatible units, they shall be summed (e.g., ingredients in equal volumes such as tablespoons). If the Reference Amounts are in incompatible units, the weights of the appropriate volumes should be used (e.g., grams of one ingredient plus gram weight of tablespoons of a second ingredient). (3) If a product requires further preparation, e.g., cooking or the addition of water or other ingredients, and if section (1) of this rule provides a Reference Amount for the product in the prepared form, then the Reference Amount for the unprepared product shall be determined using the following rules: (a) Except as provided for in subsection (3)(b) of this rule, the Reference Amount for the unprepared product shall be the amount of the unprepared product required to make the Reference Amount for the prepared product as established in section (1) of this rule. (b) For products where the entire contents of the package is used to prepare one large discrete unit usually divided for consumption, the Reference Amount for the unprepared product shall be the amount of the unprepared product required to make the fraction of the large discrete unit closest to the Reference Amount for the prepared product as established in section (1) of this rule. (4) The Reference Amount for an imitation or substitute product or altered product as defined in OAR 603-029-1038(4), such as a “low calorie” version, shall be the same as for the product for which it is offered as a substitute. (5) The Reference Amounts set forth in sections (1) through (4) of this rule shall be used in determining whether a product meets the criteria for nutritional claims. If the serving size declared on the product label differs from the Reference Amount, and the product meets the criteria for the claim only on the basis of the Reference Amount, the claim shall be followed by a statement that sets forth the basis on which the claim is made. That statement shall include the Reference Amount as it appears in section (1) of this rule followed, in parentheses, by the amount in common household measure if the Reference Amount is expressed in measures other than common household measures. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 603.085, ORS 619.042 & ORS 619.046 Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 603.085, ORS 619.042 & ORS 619.046 History: DOA 19-2022, adopt filed 07/27/2022, effective 07/28/2022