For the first time in over 20 years, food nutrition labels in the United States are receiving a makeover. Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled new standards for the labels, which will be fully required by 2018.
The updated label will emphasize calorie content in large, bold text. A new callout for "added sugars" will also appear, consistent with the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the Institute of Medicine's determination that calorie intake from added sugar is too high in the U.S. population and should be reduced. Knowing quantities of added sugar will help individuals identify how much sugar in their food is naturally occurring, such as sugars found in fruit or milk, and how much comes from additives like high-fructose corn syrup or cane sugar.
Serving sizes will be adjusted to reflect the amounts people currently eat, enabling consumers to assess nutrition intake more accurately. Common serving sizes have increased since the guidelines were last updated in 1994. Additionally, multi-serving packages such as bags of chips, or large bottles of soda, will have nutrition information displayed for the entire package, as well as the single-serving information.
"For more than 20 years, Americans have relied on the Nutrition Facts label as a leading source of information regarding calories, fat and other nutrients to help them understand more about the foods they eat in a day," said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, M.D. "The updated label makes improvements to this valuable resource so consumers can make more informed food choices - one of the most important steps a person can take to reduce the risk of heart disease and obesity."
Please join the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children in promoting these important changes that will assist families in Chicago - and beyond - in making positive nutrition choices, and help pave the way for our children's healthy futures.
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