FDA Food Labels Have Finally Evolved
On Friday, the FDA made major progress in finalizing some significant changes to their labels on food packaging.
This is the first time change has been applied to FDA labels since they were first introduced in the 1990’s; now, there will be a section for added sugars, the calorie counts will be typed in bigger font, and the portion sizes have expanded, in effort to reflect the way people eat in this day and age. Portions have significantly increased since the 70’s and 80’s, so it was only necessary that this was changed.
These changes have been in the works since 2014 by the FDA, but customer advocates were concerned that the main components being changed would not be welcomed by food industry lobbyists. The road to change was not easy; there was some pushback, but on Friday, everything worked out.
By July 2018, most food companies will have to follow the new label template. The only exception to this will be smaller companies finishing with less than $10 million in sales; they will have an extra year to do this.
This is a very big step for the FDA, as getting food companies on board with cooperating with labeling is currently still a battle. For example, companies such as Kraft, PepsiCo, and Nestle are among companies that refused to comply with labeling Proposition 37. If Proposition 37 had been approved, it would require all companies to label specifically whether genetic material was used in the state of California. It also would prohibit companies from falsely labeling food as “natural.” However, there was so much push back from these companies, that Proposition 37 did not get approved. This introduces the question that if these companies’ products were in fact natural, labeling shouldn’t have been a problem. Those companies fighting against more labeling made it clear that their products were not quality, and they were scared that proper labeling would scare off consumers, as people making an effort to be healthier would stop buying their products if they knew what it really contained.
Accurate food labeling is very important to many Americans; labels help people decide what they should eat and what they should avoid, based on what is best for their health. Labeling is now more important than ever, as more often than not, the food we are eating contains some sort of preservative, color, or chemical. In a society where 36.5% of adults are obese, changes like this will only be positive. People will see clearly exactly what and how much they are consuming, hopefully causing people to find healthier alternatives, and in the big picture, aiding the obesity and diabetes epidemic in this country.