Food Labeling Regulation: A Historical and Comparative Survey

Abstract

By tracing the history of food labeling laws, we can see that labeling regulation has come a long way from the branding of bread during the reign of King John in the thirteenth century. The food label has gone from a mere enforcement devise to a marketing tool to an instrument for fulfillment of nutrition policy. Labeling regulation has transformed from simple rules to avoid fraud and mispresentation to complex affirmative requirements to help the consumer understand the labeled food in the context of their overall diet.