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Product Development Support
The Food Safety Systems Consulting Services Department brings a vast array of food industry experience to the table.
Label Review, US and International: Food labels are complex. For those who do not deal with the regulations frequently, they can be confusing, particularly if your company is contemplating any type of nutritional or structure/function claim. Our label review experts can review your label art and claims documentation for regulatory compliance. Areas covered include:
- US-FDA food labels
- US-FDA supplement labels
- USDA labels
- Canadian labels
- Australian & New Zealand labels
- European and Asian labels (selected countries)
Ingredient Review: In addition to label format review, Eurofins Food Safety Systems can review your ingredients to assure that they are in compliance with local regulations for the US, Canada, Australia & New Zealand and many of the European Union countries.
Nutrition Analysis by Database: There are several reasons to consider doing Nutrition by Database. Database analysis of your product is about 1/3 rd the cost of a full nutrition analysis done in the laboratory. Database analysis can generally be completed in a few of days, where the laboratory will generally take at least 2 weeks to complete. Product like a hot sauce that has a very small serving size will have only a few nutrients reported in the Nutrition Facts Panel. A simply formulated, low volume product may not support the full cost of laboratory analysis. During the product development process there may be a need to evaluate the approximate values of target nutrients in your formulation to assure you are tracking your objectives appropriately.
Nutrition by Database may be combined with a small amount of laboratory analysis to improve accuracy. Moisture content is likely to change during production and may be difficult to accurately reflect in the Database analysis. Sodium has been shown to be inconstant with the actual product. Proximate Analysis (moisture, total protein, total fat and ash analyzed by the lab, with carbohydrates and calories calculated) can be used to adjust the database data and will add measurably to the accuracy of database analysis while still keeping the cost at about ½ of full laboratory analysis. We will be happy to recommend the best alternative for your product.
When should you not use Nutrition Analysis by Database? Database analysis is not appropriate for products that have multiple production steps where content is gained and lost along the way. Examples are: fried foods, breaded and fried foods, marinated foods, etc.
It is important to always have laboratory data to support a nutritional content claim for a product. Database analysis may not be adequate support for a claim.
For those products where database analysis is not appropriate, laboratory analysis is available including all the required nutrients for foods and most vitamins and minerals as well as many herbal active ingredients for foods and dietary supplements.
Stability/Shelf-life Studies: In cooperation with the Eurofins Laboratories, a shelf-life or stability study can be designed to meet the specific needs of your product and your market place. We believe that no “one size fits all” shelf-life testing protocol is appropriate for every product. We will work with you to design a study specific to your product.
Contact Eurofins Food Safety Systems for more information at (410)712-0380 or email us.
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