Food in the U.S. may soon show simpler nutrition labels in the front of packaging in an effort to get Americans to eat healthier food and tackle chronic disease.
The label focuses on three nutrients linked to poor health—saturated fat, sodium and added sugars—that would be immediately visible to shoppers and say if they are in "high, "medium" or "low" amounts, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.
The label, which the FDA is calling a "Nutrition Info Box," is essentially a downsized version of the nutrition information found at the back of packaging, known as the "Nutrition Facts label."
"While many consumers use and benefit from the Nutrition Facts label, regular use of the label is lower among some segments of the population," the FDA said.
An example of a front-of-package nutrition label. Image via FDA.
The FDA said it aims for the label to encourage Americans to make healthier eating choices.
It would follow 16 countries, including Germany, France and Spain, that already have front-of-package nutrition labeling.
"Diet-related chronic diseases in the United States are the leading causes of death and disability," the FDA said."Healthy eating patterns, which are, among other things, lower in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, are associated with improved health, such as reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancers."
The label would require companies to have the label within three years after the final rule's effective date, which hasn't been proposed, for businesses with $10 million or more in yearly food sales and four years for companies with less than $10 million in annual sales.
The FDA is now accepting comments on the proposal, which can be sent electronically through http://www.regulations.gov/ by May 16, 2025.
The label is an "an important step to make nutrition information clearer and more accessible," said Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Association.
"For decades, the Nutrition Facts label has been an essential tool to educate people across the country about the nutritional content of their food and drinks, but high rates of diet-related illnesses continue to show that additional actions are needed to address the confusion and barriers consumers face in evaluating and identifying better options," she said.