On-Package Consumer Nutrition Messages Policy

On-Package Consumer Nutrition Messages Policy

Effective Date:  April 2002                                     


POLICY:  ADA will participate with the food industry, including commercial entities, to provide consumers with credible, scientifically based information about food, nutrition and fitness through statements printed on food and related packages.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

  1. ADA does not endorse any commercial brands.  The on-package message may not contain any brand designations or company names.  Only generic references to foods and related products are permitted.
  2. ADA’s on-package message will be graphically separated from the manufacturer’s copy on the label and will be clearly marked with the ADA name and/or logo.
  3. Consistency of the message with ADA’s positions, mission, vision and philosophy is necessary for approval.  The review and approval process is designed to ensure that ADA retains total control of the content and placement of messages on food packages. 
  4. The review process will involve ADA staff as appropriate as well as members selected for their expertise or experience.
  5. The immediate goal is to deliver sound nutrition messages to the public.  A longer-term goal is to increase public demand and utilization of the services of dietetics professionals and ADA members by increasing consumer awareness of the profession and its practitioners.
  6. The program will provide support for ADA’s strategic vision that ADA members be recognized as the leading source of food and nutrition services and for the ADA Foundation’s mission to improve the nutritional health of the public through education.
  7. The ADA on-package program is a public education program and is not a product endorsement, recognition or certification program. 
  8. Where appropriate the ADA message may direct the consumer to the ADA Web site for additional information.


REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCEDURES:

  1. The review process consists of two stages.  The first stage occurs after the initial proposal from a potential sponsor and before ADA commits itself to any action.  In the first stage, the focus is on the kind of message being proposed as well as the suitability of the sponsor based on ADA’s mission, vision, positions and philosophy.  The second stage occurs after an agreement is signed and focuses on the exact wording and layout of the proposed message.
  2. The review process is managed by the ADA Knowledge Center.  The Knowledge Center assembles an internal review group with representation from the appropriate staff teams, such as Scientific Affairs, Marketing and Communications and the House of Delegates.  The Knowledge Center also selects a member review team of two members from the Fact Sheet Review Panel, which consists of volunteers recommended by DPG chairs primarily to review Nutrition Fact Sheet proposals and which serves for a one-year term.  When member reviewers’ comments disagree, a third reviewer from the panel will be selected.
  3. The outcome of the first review stage is a decision on whether ADA should go forward with the specific proposal at hand.  If there are significant differences of opinion among reviewers that cannot be resolved, then the proposal is brought before the E-Team and the CEO for further deliberation.
  4. Only after a positive decision is reached in the first review stage may ADA sign a binding agreement with a sponsor.
  5. After an agreement is signed, the Knowledge Center works with the sponsor to draft a specific label proposal, including language and layout.
  6. This specific proposal then undergoes an internal and an external review as before.  If a consensus cannot be reached, the proposal is presented to the E-Team and CEO for further deliberation.
  7. If in the course of the process, any changes are made to language or layout, the changes must go through the stage-two review process again from the beginning.
  8. The label message, as approved by ADA, is then sent to the sponsor or the sponsor’s agency for review.  If changes are requested, the changed message then goes through the stage-two review process again.
  9. Before ADA gives any final authorization to the sponsor to have the labels printed, the E-Team and CEO must review the final copy.
  10. ADA has final and full editorial control of the content of all on-package label messages.