FDA to propose new food label warnings to combat obesity
FILE-Customers shop in the frozen food section of a grocery store. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Food and Drug Administration will propose labeling food and drink packaging to help consumers make healthier decisions to fight obesity rates.
Labels on the foods will flag products that have elevated levels of sodium, saturated fat or added sugars, which are common ingredients of processed foods comprising more than half of the calories people eat daily.
There are two labeling options the FDA is considering for the front of food packages: One label would signal high levels of added sugars, saturated fat, or sodium, which the FDA defines as having 20 percent or more of the recommended daily amount per serving.
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The other label includes colors showing how much saturated fat, sodium and added sugars per serving the food contains. If a food has five percent or less of the daily value of those ingredients, a green "low" label is placed next to it. If the food is at or more than 20 percent for that nutrient, it gets a red "high" label. Everything in between gets a yellow "medium" label, the Washington Post noted.
Some nutrition experts and legislators like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate health committee, argues that the labeling options being considered by the FDA are not clear enough to protect Americans’ health.
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While other experts tell the Washington Post that the U.S. labels are confusing with labels used in Chile, which uses black octagon-shaped labels to highlight foods high in calories, saturated fat, sodium or sugar.
In February, Sanders sent a letter to the FDA commissioner encouraging the agency to require companies in the food and beverage industry to put strong warning labels on their products so consumers are aware of the health risks associated with the products. Sanders has also introduced his own legislation that would feature specific labels warning Americans about foods with unhealthy ingredients.
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Researchers at the University of North Carolina Global Food Research Program released a report and evaluated popular snacks sold in the U.S. like Goldfish crackers, Cheetos and Cheerios to demonstrate what their packaging might resemble under the U.S. proposals compared to how the same product would be labeled in Chile.
The team noted that the easy-to-understand warning labels like the versions used in Chile as well as Mexico, Peru, and Israel are more effective at helping consumers recognize unhealthy products.
According to the Washington Post, food companies are opposing the labels on the front of packaged foods and question the FDA’s claim that doing so can impact consumers' food options and obesity rates, while food industry representatives suggest that labels on food might increase food costs.