Making healthy choices when shopping for food and drinks can be overwhelming because of the confusing and hard-to-understand food labels but consumers may soon find it easier to shop for healthier food with the proposed changes to the current nutrition label.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed changes to the nutrition labels displayed on packaged foods that are sold in the United States. Among these changes include displaying the calorie counts in bigger and bolder print and adjusting the food portion size to reflect how much Americans actually eat, as shown by studies.
"It's an amazing transformation," said FDA commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg. "Things like the size of a muffin have changed so dramatically. It is important that the information on the nutrition fact labels reflect the realities in the world today."
The new nutrition label would also include the amount of added sugar and their source e.g. corn syrup, honey, sucrose or others.
"The changes put added sugars clearly in the cross hairs," said David A. Kessler, who was commissioner of the FDA in the 1990's when nutrition information on labels were first required. "America has the sweetest diet in the world. You can't get to be as big as we've gotten without added sweeteners."
The changes will make up the first major update to nutrition labels in 20 years in line with the government's efforts to combat the obesity epidemic in the United States, which has resulted in the prevalence of unwanted health conditions such as diabetes and coronary heart disease.
"For 20 years consumers have come to rely on the iconic nutrition label to help them make healthier food choices," Hamburg said. "To remain relevant, the FDA's newly proposed Nutrition Facts label incorporates the latest in nutrition science as more has been learned about the connection between what we eat and the development of serious chronic diseases impacting millions of Americans."
First Lady Michelle Obama, who has focused on better nutrition and in combating childhood obesity, announced FDA's proposal at the White House on Thursday. Following her announcement will be a 90-day period for public comments on the proposal.
"Our guiding principle here is very simple: that you as a parent and a consumer should be able to walk into your local grocery store, pick up an item off the shelf, and be able to tell whether it's good for your family," the First Lady said in a statement.
