PH exporters brace for change in US packaging rules

The head of a group of local exporters said they were getting ready to comply with the US government’s plan to require front-of-package nutrition labels on goods entering their country.

Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. on Tuesday told the Inquirer that they see this latest regulation causing added costs for local producers exporting to the United States.

“It will be another expense. [Our exporters] will need to exhaust their existing printed materials and will need to produce new ones,” Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a phone interview.

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“We will wait for the final advisory. It’s a good thing that exporters have the time to prepare,” he added.

Nutrition info box

According to an advisory this month from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to introduce a front-of-package nutrition labeling rule.

“If approved, the rule would require the inclusion of a standardized “nutrition info box” on the front of most food packages, complementing the existing nutrition facts label,” the DTI said.

“The proposed Nutrition Info Box is designed to provide consumers, especially those with limited nutrition knowledge, with simplified, at-a-glance nutrition information, categorizing the levels of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar as “Low,” “Medium,” or “High.”

The DTI said that this approach aligns with current federal dietary recommendations that encourage limiting these nutrients to support a balanced and nutrient-dense diet.

“Philippine food exporters and would-be-exporters targeting the US market are advised to closely monitor the progress of this proposed rule, as it may introduce new labeling requirements that could impact product packaging and compliance strategies,” the DTI said.

Comments on the proposed rule can be submitted online to the US FDA by May 16.