NLEA Mandatory Nutrients

Eurofins' standard turnaround time is 10 business days for individual mandatory or voluntary nutrients, as well as most routine analyses in our service portfolio.  We can also provide expedited service on most routine analyses to meet your time requirements.  Please contact our client service staff at (515) 265-1461 or email to arrange a testing scheme that meets your needs.

Nutrition Testing

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) of 1990 describes the mandatory and voluntary requirements for nutrition labeling for most foods under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) jurisdiction as well as the regulations for products governed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Meat and poultry products are independently regulated by the USDA. The regulations for USDA products closely compare to the FDA's rules. The NLEA regulations identify the nutrient components required for food products; create format designs for the Nutrition Facts Panel; and establish Daily Reference Values (DRV) and Reference Daily Intakes (RDI). Among other things, it also explains rounding rules for analytical data; authorizes health claims and nutrient descriptors; and, outlines exemption rules, sample compositing suggestions and serving sizes. The entire document outlining the requirements can be found in the Federal Register 21 CFR 101 (FDA) and 9 CFR (USDA).

Under these regulations food nutrition labels now offer more complete, useful and accurate information than ever before. They contain easy to read information for virtually every product in the grocery store. Nutrient values are expressed as % Daily Value to help consumers decide how a food will conform to their dietary needs. Also, the terms describing a food's nutrient content such as "light", "low fat", and "high fiber" are now uniform so that all products can be equally compared. Standardized serving sizes are more realistic and make product nutritional comparisons much easier.

Our staff of nutritional scientists will work with you to establish an analytical testing program or help supplement an existing program you may already have or assist you with the requirements of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA).

Sampling and Compositing

The sampling and compositing of a sample may be the most important step in obtaining good analytical data. The results of analytical testing will only be as good as the sample submitted for analyses.

The NLEA recommends a representative sample be used for analyses in FDA products. It should be a composite of twelve (12) randomly chosen subsample,s each one from a different production case. The USDA recommends that a minimum of six (6) subsamples be used for a composite. The subsamples should be the same size, type and style produced under similar conditions that are designated by the same code, marking or production date. It is important to provide sufficient sample to the laboratory for analyses. To properly perform the analyses the laboratory must have enough sample to weigh the correct amount required for each test. A good approximation regarding sample size for a complete nutrient profile would be 800g (about 2lbs) of product.

The actual compositing and homogenization process is very important. It is necessary to provide specific instructions for special product preparations. Improper compositing can skew the analytical results. Examples of special compositing instructions would be edible vs. inedible portions (e.g., eggs); cooked vs. uncooked (e.g., vegetables); dry vs. prepared mix (e.g., cake mix); component vs. entire portion (e.g., microwave dinners); and, drained vs. undrained (e.g., pineapple).