Notice to the Trade

United States
Department of
Agriculture

Agricultural
Marketing
Service

1400 Independence Ave., SW
Room 0709 Stop 0247
Washington, DC 20250

December, 2009

NOTICE TO THE TRADE
Fee for Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Review and Approvals
Effective January 18, 2010, the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing
Service (AMS), Fruit and Vegetable Programs (FV), Processed Products Branch will assume the
operation and management of the CN Labeling review program from the USDA, Food and
Nutrition Service. With the shift in operation and management, the AMS Processed Products
Branch will charge a fee for the CN Label review service.
Label applications submitted to AMS after December 31, 2009, will be assessed a service fee of
$92 per hour, with a minimum charge of one hour per label. After the first hour of service, fees
will be assessed in 15 minute increments. Labels submitted that require an immediate review
for approval or “rush,” will be charged a first hour fee of $184, and $92 for each additional hour
of service provided.
The AMS CN Labeling review fee will be charged for all label review activity, including
administration, communication with the applicant or their designated representative, label
review, and transfer of label information to and from USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service
(FSIS), as necessary.
Applications for label review may be submitted using the following methods and addresses:
Email – Submissions may be by PDF, or other electronic file, to CNLabeling@ams.usda.gov
Mail – Private Carrier Delivery service and U.S. Postal Service
Hand Delivered - “Industry Expeditor,” or other representative
Notice for U.S. Postal Service Mail: Please be advised that U.S. Postal Service mail delivery to
the USDA South Building in Washington, D.C., is screened as a security measure. This process
may cause the contents to be scorched, burned, and/or become brittle resulting in damage of
contents beyond use.
U.S. Postal Service Address: Child Nutrition Labeling Program Operations Office
C/O USDA, AMS, FV, PPB
Stop 0247
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250-0247

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NOTICE TO THE TRADE
Fee for Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Review and Approvals

Private Carrier Delivery Services and Expediter Drop Address:
Child Nutrition Labeling Program Operations Office
C/O USDA, AMS, FV, PPB
Room 0710-S
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250-0247
Telephone: 202-720-9939
Prerequisite Label Submission Requirements:
All CN Label applicants must sign an agreement for the label review service and have an
established account with AMS, FV, Processed Products Branch (PPB). This can be initiated
by completing and submitting the service agreement, which can be found at
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/cnlabeling/default.htm. New applicants can download the
agreement, complete the information requested, and e-mail or fax the completed
agreement to the AMS Child Nutrition Labeling Program Operations Office.
Meat, poultry, and egg products must be produced in facilities that are under Federal
inspection or in facilities under an equivalent Federal-State inspection program. All other
manufacturer’s plants are subject to a plant sanitation survey prior to acceptance in the CN
Labeling Program.
All label applications must have a USDA or U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine
Fisheries Service, approved Quality Control (QC) Program. Juice drinks and juice drink
products produced under AMS in-plant inspection are exempt.
If an ingredient is a CN labeled “source product,” a legible copy of the source product CN
label must be included in the application and it must be produced under an approved QC
Program.
CN Label Inquiries:
Child Nutrition Labeling Program Operations Office
USDA, AMS, FV, PPB
Stop 0247, Room 0710-S
1400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
Email: CNLabeling@ams.usda.gov
Phone Number: 202-720-9939
Fax Number: 202-690-3824