EU: Türkiye Applies for Protected Designation of Origin for “Aydın Çam Fıstığı” Pine Nuts
An application was published on January 31, 2025, in the Official Journal of the European Union for a protected designation of origin for the “Aydın Çam Fıstığı” pine nuts from Türkiye.
According to the application, “Aydın Çam Fıstığı” is produced within the boundaries of Aydın province, a historically important settlement due to its geographical location. Aydın shares its borders with Izmir to the north, Manisa to the northeast, Denizli to the east, Muğla to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west. The region’s landscape is characterized by mountain ranges running perpendicular to the Aegean Sea and the plains separating them. Aydın province has 17 districts: Efeler, Bozdoğan, Buharkent, Çine, Germencik, İncirliova, Karacasu, Karpuzlu, Koçarlı, Köşk, Kuyucak, Kuşadası, Nazilli, Söke, Sultanhisar, Didim and Yenipazar. Among these, Koçarlı stands out as the leading producer, with 10,000 hectares of pine trees.
Japan: Allergy Labeling to Be Mandated for Cashews and Recommended for Pistachios
On January 21, 2025, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) announced that Japan intends to mandate allergy labeling on cashews from the current recommended status by the end of the Japanese fiscal year 2025 (April 2025-March 2026), according to a new USDA GAIN report. The CAA also intends to add pistachios to the list of recommended allergy labeling ingredients.
USA: FDA Delays Implementation of “Healthy” Claim Rule
Following a memorandum issued on January 20, 2025, by U.S. President Donald Trump, titled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has postponed the implementation of the final rule, “Food Labeling: Nutrient Content Claims; Definition of the Term ‘Healthy,’” until April 28, 2025. Originally announced in December 2024, the updated rule —under which nuts now qualify as “healthy”— was set to take effect on February 25, 2025, but has been delayed by approximately two months. In 2023, the INC submitted comments to the FDA in support of updating the “healthy” claim definition to include nuts.
USA: FDA Proposes Requiring At-a-Glance Nutrition Information on the Front of Packaged Foods
In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that would require a front-of-package (FOP) nutrition label on most packaged foods. The proposed FOP nutrition label, also referred to as the “Nutrition Info box,” provides information on saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars content in a simple format showing whether the food has “Low,” “Med” or “High” levels of these nutrients. It complements the FDA’s Nutrition Facts label, which gives consumers more detailed information about the nutrients in their food. The deadline to submit comments on the proposed rule is May 16, 2025.