SILVER SPRING, Md.-- With convenience-store customers paying more attention to what goes into their food, news of a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandate to improve the Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods and beverages seems like a natural progression of things.
The new and improved labels are designed to better help consumers make informed food choices that support a healthy diet, according to the FDA. Manufacturers will need to use the new label by July 26, 2018, and small businesses will have an additional year to comply. During this transition time, both current and new labels will likely appear on products.
The Nutrition Facts label design will reflect current scientific information. Changes include:
- Serving size: The number of servings per container and the serving size will be more prominent on the label. Serving sizes also have been updated to reflect what people actually eat and drink. It was redesigned to encourage consumers to check the serving size to determine how many calories and nutrients they are consuming. The nutrition information listed on the Nutrition Facts label is usually based on one serving of the food.
- Calorie count: Calories are important to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, so the new label emphasizes calories with larger and bolder type. Calories from fat will no longer be listed, because research shows the type of fat consumed is more important than the amount. Approximately 100 calories per serving is moderate and 400 calories per serving is high.
- Percent daily value: The daily values for nutrients have been updated based on new scientific evidence. The daily values are the amount of nutrients to consume or not to exceed each day and are used to calculate the percent daily value (%DV). The %DV is designed to make it easy for consumers to tell how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. Approximately 5% DV or less of a nutrient per serving is low and 20% DV or more of a nutrient per serving is high.
- Nutrients listing: Added sugars are now required on the label to help consumers know how much sugar has been added to the product. Vitamin D and potassium are also required on the label because consumers do not always get the recommended amounts. Vitamins A and C are no longer required since deficiencies of these vitamins are rare today. Consumers are encouraged to use the label to choose products that are lower in nutrients they need less of (e.g., saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and added sugars) and higher in nutrients they need more of (e.g., dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium). Consumers should aim for less than 10% of total daily calories from added sugars.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled the update to nutrition labels last May. The rule affects labels on products, from candy bars and sodas to crackers and cereal, at every point of sale across America, according to Politico. The news organization estimated the overhaul to cost an estimated $2 billion at the time.
"Very soon you will no longer need a microscope, a calculator or a degree in nutrition to figure out whether the food you're buying is actually good for our kids," Obama said when she announced the redesign at a health summit in Washington in May 2016. "That's a phenomenal achievement."
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.