Long Overdue: Nutrition Label Updates

 

In late February, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its plans to update the ‘Nutrition Facts’ label we all have come to know on the food products we buy.  And now it’s time for you to weigh in! 

As consumers, we need to tell the FDA that we support changes that will make it easier to compare products and make healthier choices.  The agency is accepting public comments between now and August 1st- and we’ve made it easy for you to add your voice!  Just click here to send a quick letter to FDA Commissioner Hamburg. 

The FDA’s proposes that food labels be revised to:

  • Emphasize the number of calories a food or beverage contains.  The larger, bolder font should draw attention to the calorie content and encourage consumers to consider this information when selecting a product or deciding how much to eat. 
  • Require food manufacturers to list the amount of added sugars.  Added sugars are a significant source of excess calories and generally have no or little nutritional value.

And as heart-health advocates, we need to tell the FDA what’s missing from their proposal:

  • The Daily Value for sodium was only reduced by 100mg (from 2,400 mg to 2,300 mg), which is simply not enough.  Eating too much sodium has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.  The FDA should lower the Daily Value to 1,500mg per day to encourage food manufacturers to lower the sodium content of their foods and to help Americans decrease the amount of sodium they eat.
  • The FDA should launch a consumer education campaign to help people understand the changes that will occur and make the best use of the Nutrition Facts label.

 With your help, we’ll see these common-sense changes on our store shelves in the near future.  Take action with us to ensure the FDA gets a strong message from consumers that we want clear and easy-to-understand nutrition information for the foods we eat! 

  

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