Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed At One Eating Occasion, Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed, Serving Size-Related Issues, Dual-Column Labeling, and Miscellaneous Topics; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability

January 4, 2019 Via regulations.gov Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305) Food and Drug Administration 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061 Rockville, MD 20852 Re:Food Labeling: Serving Sizes of Foods That Can Reasonably Be Consumed at One Eating Occasion, Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed, Serving Size-Related Issues, Dual-Column Labeling, and Miscellaneous Topics; Draft Guidance for Industry; Availability; Docket No. FDA-2018-D-1459 The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Food and Drug Administrations (FDAs) November 2018 draft guidance on the reference amounts customarily consumed (RACCs) and serving-size related issues. From manufacturers to distributors to suppliers to packagers, AFFI is proud to represent publicly traded and family-owned companies who help produce frozen foods and beverages for todays food service and retail marketplace and serve as economic pillars within their communities throughout the U.S. In fact, the frozen food industry contributes approximately $56 billion to U.S. GDP and accounts for 670,000 U.S. jobs. In addition to our members strong role in economic growth, AFFI members share a commitment to transparently communicating information about the nutritional content of the foods they produce and sell. Executive Summary AFFI is writing to comment on a serving-size related issue under FDAs new nutrition labeling rules. We respectfully urge FDA to exercise enforcement discretion in its final guidance to allow a narrow category of multi-serve products to list the serving size in function with how the product is marketed and typically consumed. The changes we are seeking would allow frozen multi-serve products that fall into specified RACC categories, with 200-300% of the RACC, to be labeled with a dual column nutrition label based on (1) a fraction of the package, provided that portion is greater than or equal to the applicable RACC, and (2) the entire container. For example, for a frozen stir-fry dish with 275% of the RACC that contains pasta, sauce, and vegetables, we are asking FDA to allow nutrition information to be labeled with a dual column nutrition label, with a serving size of 1/2 package, 2 servings per container, and a second column of nutrition information per container, rather than using a serving size of 1 cup and 2.5 or 3 servings per container. Additionally, for products in the specified RACC categories with more than 300% but less than 400% of the RACC, we are asking for similar flexibility to use a serving size based on the fraction of the package. As explained in more detail below, this will allow us to provide consumers with nutrition information in a way that aligns with how they typically measure and consume the product. In the case of those RACC categories for which the regulations require the serving size to be expressed in cups, the enforcement discretion we are requesting would allow use of fractions of the package, which would be more relevant and helpful to consumers for the specific categories at issue than providing nutrition information per cup of food. In all cases, the approach we are proposing would result in providing nutrition information based on an amount of food greater than or equal to the RACC, so consumers would not be misled. Please see the attached document for AFFI's detailed comments.