On Nov. 8, 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush, the most significant food labeling legislation in 50 years.  The law required all packaged foods to bear nutrition labeling and all health claims for foods to be consistent with terms defined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

This law gave the FDA explicit authority to require nutrition labeling on most food packages and specified the nutrients to be listed in the nutrition label. It also required that nutrients be presented in the context of the daily diet; specified that serving sizes should represent “an amount customarily consumed and which is expressed in a common household measure that is appropriate to the food”; and provided for a voluntary nutrition labeling program for raw fruits, vegetables, and fish. It also required standard definitions to be developed that characterized the level of nutrients and required that FDA provide for approved health claims.

The law preempts state requirements about food standards, nutrition labeling, and health claims and, for the first time, authorizes some health claims for foods. The food ingredient panel, serving sizes, and terms such as “low fat” and “light” are standardized.