The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has modernised its labels, used to indicate the levels of nutrition in all food and beverage products sold in the US, including one change that reflects the fact that portion sizes have increased.
The new labels make it clearer how many calories are in a product and how much consumers should enjoy in one sitting – but the amount of food considered a single portion has increased, in the case of ice cream from half a cup to a quarter, to reflect the fact that consumers are eating more.
Tellingly, the number of calories obtained from fats has been removed in favour of the amount of total added sugars. The change reflects a shift in focus for consumer health, with so-called free sugars replacing fats as the main source of concern.
Governments around the world have sought to calm fears of excessive sugar intake with new legislative measures – including sugar taxes that are set to come into force in the near future in the UK, Ireland and South Africa.
The vitamins section on the new label is also different: it now features values for calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin D – as well as the percentage of the recommended daily intake – while the equivalent figures for vitamins A and C are ‘no longer required since deficiencies of these vitamins are rare’, the FDA said.
The section of the nutrition labels that showed how much of an ideal diet should be made up of fats, carbohydrates and dietary fibre has also been removed.
Manufacturers will need to use the new label by July 2018, although small businesses will have an additional year to comply. During the transition, both the new labels and the old labels will be visible on various products on US retail shelves.
A spokesperson for the FDA said: “The Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods and beverages… will make it easier for you to make informed food choices that contribute to lifelong healthy eating habits.”
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