FY18 Mandatory Training Unit 2 – CN Labels

The Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Program is a voluntary Federal labeling program for the Child Nutrition Programs.

Although it is voluntary for a food manufacturer to label a product, it is not voluntary for a day care home provider to serve combination food without noting how they are recording the meal.

A CN label or a Product Formulation Statement (signed by the manufacturer) is required to be kept on record (at the day care home) to validate  the components of combination food items that can be credited to the CACFP meal pattern.

Combination Food items include (this list is not all inclusive): Breaded chicken and fish, nuggets, patties, tenders, shapes, breaded popcorn chicken and shrimp, corn dogs, pizza (any type), canned and frozen ravioli, breakfast bites, lasagna, quesadillas, Salisbury steak, meatballs, chili and chili mac, chicken pot pies, cheese sauce and frozen soups.

CN labels must be on file (at the day care home) for all combination foods to make them creditable on the CACFP.

Identify the food item below that requires a CN label or a Product Formulation Statement to be kept on file when being credited to the CACFP meal pattern:

A nutrition fact label provides the same information as a CN label.

The CN label or Product Formulation Statement must be available for review at a home visit from your program advisor or an ISBE monitor visit.

CN labels are used predominately on processed meat and meat alternate products which are often higher in sodium, fat and calories.

A CN label will always contain the following: the CN logo, which is a distinct border; the meal pattern contribution statement; a unique 6-digit product identification number (assigned by Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)) appearing in the upper right hand corner of the CN logo; the USDA/FNS authorization statement; the month and year of final FNS approval appearing at the end of the authorization statement; plus the remaining required label features: product name, inspection legend, ingredient statement, signature/address line, and net weight.

CN labels indicate that a product is healthy.

A Product Formulation Statement must include: A statement of the amount of cooked lean meat/meat alternate, bread/grain, and/or fruit/vegetable components in each serving of the food; the document must be signed by an official of the manufacturer (not a salesperson).

Not all commercially prepared, combination food items will have a CN label and it is the responsibility of the day care home provider to obtain a CN label prior to serving the item.

Do commercially prepared fish sticks require a CN label or a Product Formulation Statement to be credited to the CACFP meal patterns?

Items without a CN label may be served as an extra component but cannot count towards any of the meal pattern requirements.

Serving “extra” components is an added cost for the day care provider.

Do homemade chicken nuggets require a CN label or a Product Formulation Statement to be kept on file?

Commercially prepared, combination food items can only be credited to the CACFP meal pattern when the amount of content (i.e. meat, bread, etc.) is known and documented.

Once you buy a CN labeled product, the day care home provider only needs to cut the CN label off the first box purchased and keep that on file or keep the Product Formulation Statement on file.  As long as the provider continues to buy the same product, they can use that label on file as a reference.

While a CN labeled product is guaranteed to contain a certain quantity of food, it does not indicate that the quality of the food is any different than a non-CN labeled food.