The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires all food, beverage, and dietary supplement labels to bear declarations called “statements of identity.”  Companies attempting to comply with this requirement will likely encounter a similar term called “standard of identity.” The two are closely related, and understanding what must be included in a statement of identity may depend upon knowledge of the standard.

What is a Standard of Identity?

A “standard of identity” defines properties, features, and specific labeling requirements to which a food product must conform in order to be identified by a specific name.  At a minimum, a standard of identity provides a description of the food’s basic nature and the name that should be used to identify it.  It may also include aspects such as optional ingredients included in the food and different forms in which the food may be prepared.

Standards of identity often reflect traditional consumer understanding and expectations of what constitutes a particular food. They are often implemented in response to situations of fraud and consumer deception. To date, FDA has established almost 300 standards of identity, many dating back to the early and mid-20^th century.

For example, 21 CFR 169.150 contains the standard of identity for “salad dressing.”  Per the standard, in order to be labeled as “salad dressing”, a product must be an emulsified, semisolid food composed of at least 30% vegetable oil that contains an acidifying ingredient (e.g. vinegar or lemon juice), an egg yolk-containing ingredient, and a starchy paste prepared from specific starches or flours.  Salad dressing may also contain certain optional ingredients such as salt, spices, and citric acid, some of which have additional requirements and restrictions.

Standards of identity have recently come to the regulatory forefront due to pressure by the dairy industry for FDA to enforce the standard for “milk” on plant-based products that do not conform to the standard, such as soy milk and almond milk. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb M.D. has made public statements asserting the agency’s intent to “modernize” the standards to reflect new understandings of nutrition and encourage innovation in the food industry.

What is a Statement of Identity?

A “statement of identity” is a declaration of a food’s name that must be displayed on the principal display panel (PDP) of its label.  FDA regulations establish a hierarchy regarding the naming of foods:

1. If a food conforms to a standard of identity, then the name specified in the standard serves as the product’s statement of identity.
2. If the product is not subject to a standard of identity, the statement of identity should be the common or usual name of the food (e.g. “crackers,” “cookies”).
3. In the absence of a common name, the statement may use an appropriately descriptive or, if the nature of the food is obvious, a fanciful name commonly understood by the public.

Some foods may have alternate naming requirements established in separate regulations, guidance documents, or Compliance Policy Guides (CPGs).  For example, a CPG for Asian-style noodles determines that these foods may not be labeled solely as “noodles,” as they do not conform to that standard of identity.  However, the CPG permits the statement of identity to contain “noodles” if preceded by qualifying terms such as “Chinese,” “Chow Mein,” “Japanese,” or “Ramen.”

Similarly, FDA has established a CPG that allows for the labeling of foods as “chocolate” in defiance of the standard if the food contains cocoa as the flavoring ingredient and the food is one that consumers do not expect to contain a chocolate ingredient (e.g. chocolate pudding).  Other regulations impose restrictions on non-standardized foods such as peanut spreads, breaded shrimp, fish sticks, and juice blends.

Complying with FDA Statement and Standard of Identity Requirements

FDA requires a statement of identity to be prominently displayed in bold type.  It must be “in a size reasonably related to the most prominent printed matter” on all PDPs and “generally parallel to the base on which the package rests…” A product that fails to bear a compliant statement of identity is considered “misbranded.”

Additionally, a food marketed as a product that has a standard of identity but does not conform to that standard is also considered misbranded. For example, FDA issued a warning letter to Hampton Creek Foods, Inc. in 2015 for marketing a product as “mayo” that didn’t meet FDA’s standard of identity for mayonnaise.  Marketing misbranded food products in the U.S. is a prohibited act that may be met detention, refusal, and other regulatory action.

Avoid preventable food labeling violations.  Registrar Corp’s Regulatory Specialists know which products have standards of identity, their requirements, and the format for compliant statements of identity.  Registrar Corp’s label review service provides a comprehensive report of recommended revisions to your label as well as a print-ready version, compliant with FDA’s updated labeling rules.  For more information, call us at +1-757-224-0177 or chat with a Regulatory Advisor 24/7 at www.registrarcorp.com/livehelp.