The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently proposed a new front-of-package nutrition label. The proposed label would give consumers of packaged foods a quick-glance shorthand for how a product compares nutritionally. The proposal is open for public comment through the Federal Register through July 15.
The new label would list the serving size — the daily value percentage of saturated fats, sodium and added sugars — and rank those three elements as low, medium or high.
“The proposed rule would provide consumers, including those who have lower nutrition knowledge, with interpretive nutrition information that can help them quickly and easily identify how foods can be part of a healthy diet,” the FDA wrote in its call for comments.
The proposed new label would apply to foods that must currently carry the full nutrition facts label. It would also make slight changes to the wording of certain phrases on the full nutrition facts label.
Public comments can be submitted in the following ways:
- Online at Regulations.gov or the Federal Register
- Hard copy by mail, addressed to Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852
Comments will be accepted through July 15 at 11:59 pm EDT. All comments will be published in the final docket as submitted and be publicly available unless commenters follow the instructions for submitting confidential comments, available at the online comment opportunities.
