White House Will Announce Major Changes to Food Nutrition Labels

Politico reports that for the first time in twenty years the Obama administration will announce on Thursday major changes to nutrition labels on food packages.

“The proposed rules, which have been in the works at FDA for more than a decade, are a high priority for the administration and have been swiftly ushered through the review process at the White House Office of Management and Budget, where they are currently listed as under review.”

“Food industry groups and health advocates have not yet been briefed about what, exactly, will be in the proposals, but the changes are expected to spark significant pushback from the industry.”

“Most experts expect the FDA will require more accurate serving sizes, as the current labels are based on decades old data on consumer consumption.”

“Over the years, FDA has also hinted that it might require food manufacturers declare ‘added sugars’ on food packages, instead of just listing ‘sugars’ which is already required.”

“In addition to the uncertainty about what’s in the proposal, [experts question whether] the Obama administration has time to enact such a big nutrition policy change before a new administration takes over in 2017.”