FDA recommends putting nutritional information on front of food packages | Wilnesh News

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a new rule Tuesday Nutrition labels on packaged foods and beverages designed to help Americans make healthier choices at a glance.

Under the new rules, which consumers can expect to see as early as 2028, food manufacturers must display saturated fat, sodium and added sugar content on the front of packaging in addition to standard nutrition labels on the back.

Lindsey Smith Taillie, a nutritional epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Studies, said packaged foods in the United States often carry many health and nutrition claims, which can confuse consumers and don’t know what to expect. To their advantage or disadvantage.

For example, fruit drinks may advertise high levels of vitamin C on the front of the bottle, making them appear like a healthy choice, but at the same time, they’re also high in added sugar, Smithtelli said.

The idea is that by putting certain nutritional information directly in front of consumers, they will be more likely to make health-conscious decisions.

“We believe food should be a vehicle for health, not a cause of chronic disease,” Rebecca Buckner, FDA’s associate director for human food policy, said in a phone call with reporters.

The FDA’s proposed front-of-pack labeling would include the levels of saturated fat, sodium and added sugar, and whether those levels are considered “low,” “medium” or “high.”

FDA officials say the labels it places are supported by science, including a series of studies, consumer focus groups and an agency-led study of nearly 10,000 adults that looked at how people respond to the drugs Several possible designs.

Saturated fat, sodium and added sugars were chosen as the three nutrients because research shows they are major causes of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, Buckner said.

“I think people want to know this information to help them make good decisions,” said Dr. Yian Gu, a nutritional epidemiologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

However, additional information won’t do much good if people don’t know how certain nutrients, such as saturated fat, affect their health, Gu said, adding that more needs to be done to educate people about their nutrition .

The FDA’s proposal comes amid high rates of diet-related chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, in the United States. In heart disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1 in 10 Americans have diabetesmainly type 2 diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about two in five adults are obese.

“These diseases don’t come out of nowhere,” Gu said. “If people don’t understand the science behind all this nutrition, they’re not going to pay attention to it.”

The FDA said the front-of-package labeling will not be effective immediately. The proposal includes a 120-day comment period, after which the agency can make additional changes to the proposal or finalize new rules.

The agency said large food manufacturers will make changes to most of their products within three years of the rule being finalized. Smaller manufacturers will have an extra year to implement the changes.

Buckner said that while this was not the FDA’s original intention for food labeling, the new rule could cause food manufacturers to reformulate their products so that they can move to “low” or “medium” categories.

The Consumer Brands Association, an industry trade group, has opposed mandatory labeling, saying the FDA is considering “a plan with arbitrary proportions and symbols that could cause consumer confusion.”

Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy at the Consumer Brands Association, said in a statement that the organization is instead pushing the agency to collaborate on industry-led initiatives, including Facts Up Front, a program Allow food manufacturers to voluntarily summarize important nutritional information – such as calories, saturated fat, sodium and added sugars – on the front of packaging. Gallo said the industry has also launched smart labels where consumers can access detailed nutritional information through QR codes.

Front-of-pack nutrition labels aren’t a new concept — at least outside the U.S. dozens of countriesCountries including the United Kingdom, Mexico, Chile, Australia and New Zealand have also implemented similar measures.

In 2016, Chile introduced mandatory front-of-pack labeling to alert consumers to high levels of sugar, saturated fat and other potentially harmful ingredients.

In 2022, Brazil will also make front-of-package labeling mandatory for products.

Colleen Tewksbury, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, said research shows that labels do influence people’s purchasing behavior in these countries.

However, she said the findings may not translate easily to the United States, where “individualism” prevails and consumers “don’t want to be told what to do.”

People who change their buying behavior tend to be those who are already looking for a change, she said.

“The research shows relatively clearly that very simple front-of-package labeling does get people’s attention, but the second step is whether it changes purchasing behavior,” Tewksbury said. “We really don’t know if it will impact people’s buying habits at all.”