The nutritional facts label is required on most packaged food in many countries.They also release overall nutritional guides for general educational purposes. The guides are based on different dietary targets for various nutrients, in some cases, rather than labels on specific foods. The Nutritional Facts label in the U.S., limits the percentage supplied that is recommended to be met, or to be limited, in one day of human nutrients based on a daily diet of 2,000 calories. Here Sara Chodosh, PopSci.com, reflects on U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration's updated nutrition labels:

 

 

“The new labels, which will go into effect for the largest food companies in 2020 and for everyone else in 2021.

No one eats two Oreos. Either you eat none or you eat a dozen—there is no in between. But until recently, the Food & Drug Administration only required food labels to display the nutritional content for one serving. So, Nabisco informed consumers that their cookie snack only contained a paltry 140 calories.

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The same goes for most other junk food. If you buy a 20 ounce bottle of soda, you’ll likely finish it, rather than not stop at 12 ounces and decide that's about enough sugar for the day. In 2016, the FDA finally came to their senses and decided that food labels must match with the quantities that Americans actually consume. No more hiding the true sugar content of that Coke with a smaller serving size.

Food companies have been rolling out the new nutrition labels over the past few months, but last week, the FDA made clear exactly why those changes were made, along with some non-serving-size related updates about the new tags. Some of it is about legibility, but much of it is about staying up-to-date on what the best science says about maintaining a healthy diet. All of it is intended to help Americans make better choices. It also remains to be seen what effect the changes will have on our nation's process food-heavy diet; it might also be the best shot we have.

New to the label: added sugars, bigger numbers, better vitamins

As we’ve reported before, added sugars are one of the biggest changes to the labels. As of this summer, the FDA requires food manufacturers to list both total sugars and the grams of added sugars, which are those that don’t naturally occur in the product. Apple juice, for instance, may contain plenty of natural sugars that don’t have to be listed separately, but if the manufacturer adds in some corn syrup that has to be noted on another line.

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The idea here is that, in general, additional sugar affects the way the body processes and stores nutrients and calories. This can ultimately lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes. There are caveats to this. Juices, for example, contain only natural sugar, but nutritionists agree that juicing a fruit eliminates the fibrous flesh that helps our bodies digest those sugars properly. If you’re not eating the whole thing, those natural sugars may as well have been added. And maple syrup, though a wholly natural product, is almost entirely sugar.

Along with the added sugars line, the FDA has also opted to focus more on the total calorie count of a product. Small packages will list the calories for the entire package, while larger ones will note calories per serving size (updated to reflect the growing American portion size) along with the total calories per container. The larger font helps that number stand out from the black-and-white mess that is a standard nutrition label.

Finally, the vitamins listed at the bottom have shifted slightly. The old labels displayed percent daily values for iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Calcium and iron are sticking around, but the FDA has swapped out the two others and replaced them with vitamin D and potassium. Research showed that Americans rarely have vitamin A or C deficiencies anymore, but now can have low vitamin D and potassium levels.

Going away: calories from fat

Alongside vitamin A and C, the FDA has decided to eliminate the long-standing calories from fat item. In its own words, this is because “research shows the type of fat consumed is more important than total fats.” Saturated and trans fats, unlike the healthy mono- and polyunsaturated versions found in nuts and vegetable oils, are the ones that negatively affect your health, so the FDA is focusing on those instead.”

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Photo By The U.S. Food and Drug Administration