The new nutrition label is designed to help consumers quickly and easily identify how foods can be part of a healthy diet.
Announced this week, the front-of-package label could be a mandatory requirement if proposals go ahead.
Nutrition Info box
Referred to as the ‘Nutrition Info box’, the new label proposal would provide accessible, at-a-glance information about saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. That would then be accompanied by the existing Nutrition Facts label elsewhere on the package.
The Nutrition Info box would contain information about saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. Current federal dietary recommendations advise US consumers to limit these three nutrients.
These would be rated as ‘low’, ‘med’, or ‘high’.
Calories, however, would not be included in the Nutrition Info box: although a manufacturer could declare these voluntarily on the front of package, per existing FDA regulations.
According to the draft proposal, the Nutrition Info box would be required on most foods that must bear a Nutrition Facts label.
“Consumers deserve clear and accurate information on their food and beverages so they can make choices that are right for them,” said a spokesperson for American Beverage, the trade association representing the non-alcoholic beverage industry with members including producers, distributors, franchise companies and supporting industries.
“We are committed to working with the Trump administration and the FDA to empower consumers with nutritional information. It’s why beverage companies pioneered front-of-pack labeling more than a decade ago when we voluntarily added calorie labels on every bottle and can we sell.”
Alcohol - which does not require a Nutrition Facts label and comes under the remit of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau – is not covered by the proposed rule (however, this industry has its own set of nutrition, ingredient and allergen labeling rules in the works).
Nutrition Facts label vs FOP Nutrition Info box
The design of the FOP Nutrition Info box has been informed by a literature review, two focus group tests and a peer-reviewed experimental study that evaluated consumer reactions and responses to the different schemes.
The FOP Nutrition Info box will complement the back-of-pack Nutrition Facts label, which many - but not all - consumers use and understand, according to the FDA.
It explains that nearly 90% of US consumers report looking at the Nutrition Facts label, but fewer people look at the nutrients to limit (including sodium, saturated fat and added sugar) within the Nutrition Facts label. Likewise, men and consumers with lower education levels and household incomes are less likely to regularly use the Nutrition Facts label, according to FDA.
One in 10 Americans have diabetes and nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, which is associated with heart disease and strokes. Both are influenced by several factors, including unhealthy dietary patterns.
Use of FOP nutritional labeling has increased dramatically around the world in recent years.
Canada now has a mandatory front-of-package nutrition symbol for foods that meet or exceed set levels of sodium, sugars or salt.
Meanwhile, Europe has a voluntary Nutri-Score system, while Australia and New Zealand have the voluntary Health Star Rating front-of-pack labeling system. Singapore has NutriGrade.
In the US, FOP nutrition labeling ‘has the potential to be a landmark policy and as iconic as the Nutrition Facts label,” says the FDA.
Across the food industry, it’s been met by frustration from industry trade groups and accolades from public health advocates.
Public health groups, including the American Heart Association, the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Health Eating Research lauded the proposed rule published yesterday as an empowering tool for consumers, an incentive for food companies to make healthier products and a want to reduce diet-related chronic diseases.
Industry trade groups, including the Consumer Brands Association, the Sugar Association and FMI – The Food Industry Association, however, argued that while they share FDA’s goal in reducing diet-related chronic disease they believe the suggested FOP changes will be expensive to implement, will not improve consumer understanding of overall dietary patterns and is based on outdated and “opaque” research.
One ramification of including added sugar in the box could be an increased reliance on non-nutritive sweeteners so that products can claim to be low or medium in added sugars.
The FDA is inviting comments up to May 16. The final rule will unfold as a new presidential administration takes office and appoints new agency leaders who could influence the content and the course or timeline of the regulatory review process.
The FDA is inviting comments on the proposed rule via http://www.regulations.gov by May 16, 2025.