#216 - Food Labeling Law 101 with Lauren Handel
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 30 September 2025
⏱️ 62 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Daniel Scharff is joined by Lauren Handel, founder of Handel Food Law and one of the leading experts on food labeling and advertising compliance. Together, they break down the essential rules and risks of food labeling that every brand needs to know.
Lauren shares her perspective on high-risk claims such as “natural” and “organic,” the nuances of nutrient content and health-related claims, and the role of third-party certifications in reducing exposure to litigation. She also explains the differences between regulatory consultants and attorneys, how to navigate evolving litigation trends, and why consistency across packaging, websites, and advertising is essential.
Tune in now to learn how to protect your brand, avoid costly mistakes, and approach food labeling with a strong strategy.
Listen in as they share about:
- What is Food Labeling Law
- Litigation Trends and Risks
- Regulatory Framework
- Key Claim Categories and Rules
- The Role of Consultants vs. Attorneys
- Marketing Beyond Packaging
- Practical Guidance for Founders
Episode Links:
Website: https://www.handelfoodlaw.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-handel-food-lawyer/
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
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- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A few years back when I ran a beverage company, we had to launch using those plastic sleeves to put our designs on the cans. |
| 0:08.0 | But they looked bad, the sleeves get stretched out, they don't cover the full can, and overall they just look and feel low quality. |
| 0:14.0 | Lucky for you, digital can printing technology has come so far over the last few years that now you can launch your beverage brand or new skews with a fully |
| 0:21.7 | printed look and it's at similar pricing to those plastic sleeves. |
| 0:25.3 | Our friends at CanWorks, which is the largest U.S.-based digital can printer, are happy to work with |
| 0:30.1 | our community at very low minimums, even one palette. |
| 0:32.9 | They've got locations in the East Coast, the West Coast, Texas. |
| 0:36.0 | Get in touch with them through our contact form. |
| 0:38.2 | It's at canworksprinting.com slash startup CPG. |
| 0:42.7 | Thank you. So natural and all natural, a hundred percent natural, was the biggest area of food labeling litigation initially, like 10 to 15 years ago. |
| 1:12.4 | When food labeling litigation started to become hot, it was primarily focused on natural labeling. |
| 1:19.5 | And as a consequence of that, a lot of brands stopped saying that or found different ways to try to say the same thing. |
| 1:31.6 | So it remains a risky area, but there are kind of different versions of it now that gain more attention. |
| 1:38.7 | Welcome to the Startup CPG podcast. One of the most common questions in our 30,000 person |
| 1:43.6 | Slack group is around labeling for CPG products. What are the rules? What are the big things that can get me into trouble? So we've got a total pro on today who I've worked with a lot personally. It's Lauren Handel from Handel Food Law. She's about to break it all down for us with a great overview. And then we're going to rapid fire through a bunch of specific claims in areas where there's a lot of litigation happening right now that brands |
| 2:04.4 | should know about. All right, here we go. I hope you all learn a lot. |
| 2:13.0 | Welcome everyone to the podcast. I am so excited. We've got Lauren Handel here. And Lauren is just one of the most knowledgeable people out there on food labeling, you know, the labels that you put on your product. And this is one of the questions we get every day in the Slack. Can someone review my label for X, Y, and Z? Or can someone tell me like, hey, can I just say the product is natural? |
| 2:35.4 | What are the rules around that? |
| 2:37.0 | And so there's a lot of curiosity out there. |
| 2:39.3 | And then there are also a lot of people who get very nasty Graham type letters from lawyers |
| 2:45.7 | representing consumers out there saying, hey, this small thing happened on your packaging, and don't you know, |
| 2:52.7 | now you owe me hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though you're a tiny brand. So this is one of |
... |
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