New FDA Rules
Take a look at many packaged food products here and you might see that they were manufactured in the US. These products have to feature labels that comply with US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.
About a week back, in an initiative supported by Michelle Obama, the FDA released new guidelines for Nutrition Facts labels found on packaged food products. In the interest of keeping readers’ attention, here are some of the new FDA rules and why we should take note.
More Visible Calorie & Serving Info
“An updated design to highlight “calories” and “servings,” two important elements in making informed food choices.”
Have trouble finding the calorie count or serving information because it is tucked away in a little corner? The new design will highlight these information for easy reference.
New Added Sugar Content
“Declaration of grams and a percent daily value (%DV) for “added sugars” to help consumers know how much sugar has been added to the product.”
Currently, the total sugar content is provided which consist of sugars that are found in ingredients such as fruit, and added sugars such as cane sugar which are used to further sweeten the product. Although neither is healthier than the other, eating fruits provide vitamins that added sugars do not. This is why many health-conscious individuals choose to avoid foods with added sugar. The problem with the current label is that you have to scan the entire ingredient list to even detect if there are added sugars in the product.
In future, the exact content of added sugars will be listed so that you can make a more informed choice. Do be warned: you might be shocked to see how much added sugars are found in your favourite foods!
Realistic Serving Details
“For packages that are between one and two servings, such as a packet of chips, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as one serving because people typically consume it in one sitting.”
This new FDA rules announcement is great news because many manufacturers manipulate their serving size or number of servings per packet to make their product seem less unhealthy. You might have seen some examples such as on potato chips where a small packet has up to 5 servings. This might trick some consumers who do not notice this.
For the full list of changes, do check out the official FDA website. The new FDA rules mean that there is greater transparency in the nutrition facts and manufacturers can no longer manipulate the system for their own benefit. The changes will be implemented over 2 years so you won’t see different product labels overnight. Nevertheless, it is still a change in the right direction which we hope other nations adopt as well!