Food labels are getting their first re-design in 20 years. Today, Michelle Obama (working alongside the FDA) unveiled her proposal for nutrition labels designed to help consumers make healthier food choices. The new label proposals feature more prominent calorie counts and realistic serving sizes as well as adding the number of added sugars to the label. The label will also show per package nutritional information in addition to per serving and simplify nutrition information so that the everyday consumer will be able to understand what they are eating. With this proposal, the White House hopes to reduce the obesity epidemic America faces today and that the new changes will help Americans be better informed about the products they consume and make better diet choices.
Additionally, the FDA commissioner stated that he hopes the new changes will incentive the food industry to change their products and focus on creating more healthful foods. The administration has yet to give a timeline for the label changes to take effect, which will cost the food industry $2 billion dollars but yield $20-$30 billion in benefits over 20 years (Washington Post).
It’ll be great to see calorie and serving size information play a more prominent role on food labels. Looking forward to seeing the prototype become a reality.
