Tuesday, March 04, 2014

FDA Reopens Comment Period on "Evaporated Cane Juice"

The Food and Drug Administration is reopening the comment period on its draft guidance for industry on declaring "evaporated cane juice" as an ingredient on food labels.  The agency originally published the guidance in October of 2009 and accepted comments through early December of that year. 

The draft guidance advises industry of FDA's view that sweeteners derived from cane syrup should not be listed on food labels as evaporated cane juice because the sweetener is not juice as juice is defined in Federal regulations (Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 120.1(a)). 

FDA is reopening the comment period for 60 days to obtain additional data and information to better understand the basic nature and characterizing properties of the ingredient, the methods of producing it, and the differences between this ingredient and other sweeteners.

Interested parties may submit comments by written letter or electronically starting March 5, 2014. Additional information, including directions for filing comments and the final due date for comments, is available in the Federal Register notice announcing reopening of the comment period.