The FDA wants to put a label on America’s relationship with food

The US government is entering its healthy girl era. The FDA recently proposed a mandatory new label on the front of all packaged goods that clearly outlines their sugar, salt, and saturated fat content to help American consumers make healthier choices.

• The labels were first suggested earlier this year under the Biden administration; new Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to keep pursuing the matter.

Driving the move: Some 60% of Americans have at least one chronic disease. And a large body of research indicates excess consumption of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars serves a major role.

The idea is that the new nutritional labels – which list sugar, salt, and saturated fat content as a percentage of daily value, followed by a simple “low,” “medium,” or “high” ranking – would help Americans make healthier choices about the products they consume.

It’s been successful elsewhere. Similar nutrition labels have been implemented in countries across the world since the early 2010s.

• In Chile, the proportion of products high in sugar and sodium decreased by up to 3x after the labels were implemented.
• ~20% of all food products in the Netherlands were reformulated to score higher on the packaging labels after they came out.
• In New Zealand, salt content in cereals was reduced by 61% following the introduction of new labels.

👀 Looking ahead…The FDA is accepting public comments on its new nutrition label rule until May 16.