World Wide Gourmet Foods

A practical guide for emerging food brands

From Final Formula to Print-Ready Packaging

World Wide Gourmet Foods coordinates third-party nutrition analysis, provides the resulting labeling information to the brand owner, and reviews final artwork/packaging before commercial production.

1. How the Process Works

Once your formula and manufacturing processes are finalized, World Wide Gourmet Foods (WWGF) provides the necessary information to Nutrition and Diet Services (NDS), an independent third-party nutrition analysis and labeling company. NDS uses the commercial formula and processes information to prepare:

• Nutrition Facts Panel
• Ingredient Deck
• Allergen Statement

2. Cost & Customer Deliverables

$240 per product / SKU – this is the current charge from NDS and is passed through to the customer by WWGF.

The customer receives a copy of the NDS nutrition document, which contains the Nutrition Facts Panel, Ingredient Deck, and Allergen Statement for use in final artwork/packaging.

Note: Formula or process changes after analysis may require the labeling information to be reviewed or regenerated and may result in additional charges.

3. Required WWGF Facility Advisory Statement

“Manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, milk, and sesame.”

Note: This facility/cross-contact advisory statement is separate from the product-specific allergen declaration and does not replace the mandatory declaration of major allergens actually present in the product.

4. Basic FDA Labeling Elements

Statement of Identity – The common or usual name of the food should appear prominently on the Principal Display Panel (PDP).

Net Quantity of Contents – The PDP must state the amount of food in the package. For products sold by weight, this is normally show in U.S. customary and metric units, for example: NET WT 6 oz (170 g).

Nutrition Facts – Most packaged foods require the applicable FDA-format Nutrition Facts label, unless a specific exemption applies.

Ingredient Deck/Statement – Ingredients are generally declared by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight. Compound ingredients may require declarations of sub-ingredients.

Major Food Allergens – The nine major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. Allergens must be declared in accordance with FDA requirements.

Name & Place of Business – The label must identify the manufacturer, packer, or distributor as applicable, with the required business information and qualifying wording when appropriate.

Claims and Special Statements – Nutrient-content, health, characterizing flavor, certification, preservative, color, and other claims may create additional labeling requirements.

5. Legibility and Nutrition Facts Formatting

The FDA requires mandatory label information to be conspicuous and legible. General information-panel labeling is ordinarily at least 1/16 inch high (based on the lower-case “o”), subject to specific exemptions and requirements.

The Nutrition Facts Panel has its own detailed formatting rules under 21 CFR 101.9. Depending on the element and label format, the FDA specifies different minimum type sizes and bolding. For the standard vertical format, examples include:

• “Nutrition Facts” must be the largest type in the panel
• Calories must be bold; in the standard format, “Calories” is at least 16 point and the calorie number at least 22 point.
• Certain required information is at least 8 point; other elements may be at least 6 point.
• Small-package and tabular/linear formats have separate specifications.

Practical rule: Do not materially redesign, compress, retype, or alter the NDS Nutrition Facts panel without confirming that the final panel remains compliant with the applicable FDA format.

6. Who is Responsible for Final Label Compliance?

7. WWGF Packaging Review

After the customer incorporates the NDS information and other required labeling into the package artwork, the final proof should be sent to WWGF before printing or production. Our review focuses on:

• Nutrition Facts information and serving information
• Ingredient deck/statement and product-specific allergen declaration
• WWGF facility allergen advisory statement
• Net weight and product description
• Consistency with the formula and product WWGF will manufacture
• Obvious labeling and packaging discrepencies

8. Approval Workflow

1	Finalize	Formula & commercial processes
2	Analyze	WWGF submits information to NDS
3	Build	Customer adds labeling to artwork
4	Review	WWGF reviews final packaging proof
5	Approve	Customer approves final packaging
6	Schedule	Move into production scheduling

9. Useful Resources

Nutrition and Diet Services – Nutrition and Diet Services

FDA Food Labelling Guide – Guidance for Industry: Food Labeling Guide | FDA

FDA Nutrition Facts Label / Industry Resources – Industry Resources on the Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label | FDA

FDA Food Allergen Labelling Guidance – Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergen Labeling (Edition 5) | FDA

IMPORTANT

WWGF assists with nutrition panel generation, ingredient and allergen information, manufacturing requirements, and packaging review. The brand owner remains responsible for ensuring that the final product label and all claims comply with applicable FDA and other federal, state, and local requirements. When a claim or labeling requirement is uncertain, WWGF recommends consultation with a qualified food-labeling regulatory professional before packaging is printed.