The Food and Drug Administration proposed a new rule on Tuesday. Nutrition labels on packaged food and beverages aimed at helping Americans make healthier choices at a glance.
Under the new rule, which shoppers could see as early as 2028, food manufacturers will be required to display saturated fat, sodium and added sugar levels on the front of packaging, in addition to standard nutrition labels on the back. are
Packaged foods in the U.S. often come with multiple health and nutrition claims, which can make it confusing for consumers to know what’s in it for them, said Lindsey Smith Tilley, a nutrition epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Affairs. Good or bad. Public health.
Fruit drinks, for example, may advertise high levels of vitamin C on the front of the bottle, making them seem like a healthier choice, but at the same time, they add extra They are full of sugar.
The idea is that by putting some nutritional information directly in front of consumers, they are more likely to make health decisions.
FDA’s proposed front-of-package label would include the amount of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars and whether those amounts would be considered “low,” “moderate,” or “high.”
“I think people want to know this information to help them make good decisions,” said Dr. Yan Gu, a nutritionist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
However, additional information won’t do much good if people aren’t aware of how certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, can affect their health, Gu said, adding that people should be aware of their More work needs to be done on nutrition education.
The FDA’s recommendation comes amid high rates of diet-related chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, in the U.S. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for one in 5 1 death occurs from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1 in 10 Americans Have diabetesmostly type 2 diabetes. The CDC states that 2 out of 5 adults are obese.
“These diseases are not coming out of nowhere,” Gu said. “If people aren’t aware of the science behind all this nutrition, they won’t pay attention to it.”
According to the FDA, front-of-package labels will not apply immediately. The proposal includes a 120-day comment period after which the agency may make additional changes to the proposal or finalize a new rule.
Major food manufacturers will have three years after the rule is finalized to make changes to most of their products, the agency said. Small manufacturers will get an additional year to implement the changes.
The Consumer Brands Association, an industry trade group, opposes mandatory labeling, saying the FDA is “considering schemes with appropriate scales and symbols that may cause confusion among consumers.”
Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy at the Consumer Brands Association, said in a statement that the group has instead urged the agency to support industry-led initiatives, including Facts Up Front, that require food manufacturers to voluntarily Allows summarization of important nutritional information. As for calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugars – on the front of the packaging. Gallo said the industry has also introduced smart labels, which allow consumers to access detailed nutritional information through QR codes.
Will labels affect consumer habits?
Putting nutrition labels on the front of packages isn’t a new concept—at least outside of the United States Dozens of countriesThe United Kingdom, including Mexico, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, have also implemented similar measures.
In 2016, Chile introduced mandatory labels on the front of packaging, informing consumers of high levels of sugar, saturated fat and other potentially harmful ingredients.
In 2022, Brazil also implemented mandatory front-of-package labels for products.
Colleen Tewksbury, assistant professor of nutrition science at the University of Pennsylvania, said research has shown that labels influence what people buy in these countries.
However, he said, these findings may not translate easily to the U.S., where “individualism” prevails and consumers “don’t want to be told what to do.”
Often, he said, the people who changed their shopping behavior were the same people who wanted to make changes in the first place.
“The research is relatively clear that being very simple in front of packaging labeling gets people’s attention, but the second step is whether or not it changes purchasing behavior,” Tewksbury said. “We don’t really know if it will completely affect people’s shopping habits.”