Meal Pattern Minute: Verifying CN Labels

You’ve been ordering the same meat/meat alternate product for years and keep on file the Child Nutrition Label associated with this product. During an audit, a monitor notices that the date on the label has exceeded the five-year date from the month and year the product was approved. This raises the question of whether the CN label is up to date. How can a Child and Adult Care Program monitor or CACFP provider find out if the CN label is current? 

Get the answer by tuning in to Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, as she provides guidance on where you can find CN label information on the USDA website. 

 Below are helpful resources to help guide you in reading the CN label and verifying current CN labels. 

• USDA Authorized Labels and Manufacturers 
  • CN numbers that appear on the valid list apply to the CN logo and crediting statement only. It is the manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that the product label meets all over federal labeling requirements. Choose the CN Label Verification Report on this webpage to get the most current CN Labels. 
•  Meal Pattern Minute: CN Labels 
  • Having a Child Nutrition Label for some of your purchased products is a requirement in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and when not available, a Product Formulation is needed. But what does a CN label tell you about the product? Why do you need to have it? Well, the short answer to this question is just a click away on the Meal Pattern Minute.  
•  Understanding the CN Label 
  • This resource will help remind you what the different parts of the CN label mean and how to interpret them.
• Guidance for Accepting Processed Product Documentation for Meal Pattern Requirements
  • Once authorized, CN labels are valid for five years under the condition that the manufacturer remains an authorized CN producer and the product formulation does not change. The date printed on the CN label is the original date of authorization or the date of the most recent authorization for use of that CN label. This is different from the “Valid Until” date shown on the CN Label Verification Report, which indicates when the current authority to use the label expires. Manufacturers may choose to leave the original authorization date on the label when they receive reauthorization of their CN label so that label inventories do not go to waste. For example, if a CN label was originally authorized on February 15, 2024, it is valid until February 15, 2029. The manufacturer may resubmit the same product for reauthorization of the CN label. If reauthorization is granted, the “Valid Until” date is updated to five years from the most recent date of authorization on the CN Label Verification Report, but the date on the CN label may remain as 02/24.

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