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<\/p>\nAll packaged food comes with a label that provides the nutritional value of that particular food so consumers know exactly what they are eating and how much of each nutrient is in that particular food.\u00a0 The labels also provide the ability to compare and contrast different food ingredients and nutrients for choosing the healthiest option.\u00a0 Unfortunately, individuals do not always use this wonderful tool to choose what they put in their bodies.\u00a0 One reason for this is that current labels are difficult to read and interpret.<\/p>\n
When first looking at a food label, it can be confusing where to start and what is important to look for.\u00a0 Also, nutritional science is ever changing and the current food label was over 20 years old, making it long overdue for an update.\u00a0 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took this into account, and on May 20, 2016, the FDA announced its new and improved Nutrition Facts Label for packaged foods designed to reflect new scientific information which includes the link between diet and chronic disease, such as obesity and heart disease.\u00a0 Below is a summary of some of the changes.<\/p>\n
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When evaluating a label, consumers should always start at the top with serving size and then work their way down to the number of calories PER SERVING.\u00a0 A huge mistake when looking at labels and deciding how much to eat occurs when individual confuse the number of calories per serving as the caloric content for the entire package.\u00a0 The FDA has addressed this common error by increasing the type size and bolding the following to outline its importance: calories, servings per container, and serving size.\u00a0 This will make these important aspects of the label easier to see and become a focal point of the nutritional label.<\/p>\n
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Manufacturers are now required to show the actual\u00a0amount, in addition to percent daily value of vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium, all of which are important nutrients in a healthy diet.\u00a0 Manufacturers can voluntarily declare the gram amount for other vitamins and minerals.<\/p>\n
Percent daily value is also better explained on the label for consumers to understand how much of the particular nutrient is relevant to their caloric needs.\u00a0 It now reads the following; \u201cThe % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. \u00a02,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.\u201d \u00a0What a lot of consumers don\u2019t understand is that not everyone needs 2,000 calories a day so that needs to be taken into account when looking at the percent daily value of certain nutrients.<\/p>\n
Daily values for nutrients are also being updated to reflect new scientific evidence from the Institute of Medicine and the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which was used in developing the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.<\/p>\n
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Scientific data shows that it is difficult to meet nutritional needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10% of your total daily calories from added sugar.\u00a0 This is consistent with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.\u00a0 It is unfortunate that there are a lot of products out there that contain high amounts of added sugars to enhance the flavors of the product.\u00a0 The new FDA label will indicate not only how much total sugar there is in the product but also how much of it is from added sugar measured in grams and percent daily value.<\/p>\n
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Unfortunately, people increasingly overconsuming food.\u00a0 The amount of change compared to when the<\/p>\n
latest food label came out back in 1993 has changed considerably.\u00a0 \u00a0By law, serving size must be labeled based on what people are actually eating, not what they should eat.\u00a0 This is also effected by the size of the package of food.\u00a0 Some foods may be two servings but can easily be eaten in one sitting.\u00a0 For packages that are between one and two servings, such as 20 ounces of soda, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as one serving because people will typically consume this in one sitting.\u00a0 Hopefully, this update to the label will make consumers think twice about consuming a bottle of soda in one sitting (or in general)!<\/p>\n
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