In late February, the Food and Drug Administration announced proposed updates to the nutrition facts label for packaged foods, and the public has until the end of May to submit comments about the suggested revamp. The mock-up, which would mark the first significant overhaul to the label since it was introduced 20 years ago, speaks to new dietary recommendations and scientific information on how people eat today.
The new design would magnify calorie information, and larger packages would be required to print dual-column labels illustrating per-serving and per-package details. Notably, serving sizes would be amended to reflect the amount actually consumed, rather than what is recommended. The labels would include data on the amount of added sugars, potassium and vitamin D as well as revised daily values for some nutrients. Finally, calories from fat would be eliminated, as studies show the type of fat in a food is more important than the amount. Following the comment period, the food industry will have two years to comply with the final rulings on the changes.
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| Current nutrition fact label. | The newly proposed nutrtion fact label. |
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