Searching for a Cure: Updated Nutrition Facts Label Targets Major Public Health Concerns

The iconic Nutrition Facts label, first introduced in the United States over 20 years ago, is about to change.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a new design and content to better inform consumers, and address current health issues like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Food manufacturers in the U.S. — and those who import products there — will have to abide by the new rules once they’ve been officially released.

The most noticeable change will be bigger, bolder calorie counts (calories are the most important factor in fighting obesity).

The war on fat seems to be passé, however. More recent mainstream consensus is that it’s the type of fat that matters, rather than the amount. So the breakdown of total, saturated and trans fat will stay, but the “total calories from fat” will be removed.

Other updates stemming from modern nutrition science include listing the added sugar (another obesity factor), and updated % daily values of important nutrients (vitamin D and potassium, two more common deficiencies, will replace vitamins A and C).

The design of the label, aside from emphasizing calories, will also be updated to better reflect consumer behavior. Serving sizes will be written in plain language (e.g., one cup) and will be based on what people actually eat, rather than what they should be eating.

For certain larger packages, which could potentially be consumed in one sitting, a “dual column” will provide information for both a serving size and the entire package. The rationale is that consumers should be able to see, at a glance, how many calories they would be eating if they ate the whole package (without having to break out a calculator).

The new labels reflect the fact that consumer behavior and nutritional science have changed, and so the most basic tool that consumers use to understand what they’re eating has to change along with it.

The updated label could open up new avenues for manufacturers to develop products that appeal to the label-conscious consumer, with lower sugar content, healthier fats and fewer calories.

The proposed changes have been published in the Federal Register. The FDA has invited both consumers and industry to comment for a 90-day period. Once the final rules have been confirmed and released, industry will have two years to update their packaging.

For further reading, see the FDA’s Proposed Changes to the Nutrition Facts Label information page.

Visit Global Food Safety Resource’s website for even more food safety information!