Nutrition Facts on Front of Packages

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Created on 01, May, 2010

An online news site states that FDA will require food manufacturers to display nutrition info on the front of packages. 

This article and the hundreds of sites that picked it up did not do their research, and misrepresented what is going on. FDA is not planning to require nutrition labels on fronts of packages. The plan is simply to make sure all "front of package" CLAIMS (nutrition or health-related) are accurate and comply with existing regulations (e.g., a claim of "low in fat," can only be made when the food has no more than 3 grams of fat per serving). Also, FDA is working on a standardized, VOLUNTARY system/format to show a food's nutritional HIGHLIGHTS on the front of a package -- this is separate from the required Nutrition Facts panel. Many manufacturers are showing nutrition highlights, but often are using any definitions/system they want, rather than following labeling regulations.