The FDA is looking to update some aspects of food packaging.  They include:

• What it defines as healthy
• The criteria a food item must have to be considered healthy
• Adding a healthy symbol to help consumers spot healthy items quickly at the store (similar to the USDA’s organic symbol or the Whole Grain Council’s logo on grain products).

Currently, food companies can claim their product is healthy based on guidelines that were set in 1994.  With the Dietary Guidelines for Americans being revisited every five years, and the Nutrition Facts label getting updated a few years ago, updating the standards for health claims will ensure consistency in dietary guidance and make grocery shopping for healthy items easier.

Under this proposed update, yogurt or cereal with too many grams of added sugar would no longer qualify for the “healthy” claim, while salmon, nuts, and olive oil could now count as healthy.  While they do have a high fat content, it’s the healthy unsaturated fat they are high in.  The current health claim does not factor in the type of fat.

Another proposal being researched: having certain parts of the nutrition facts label to be listed on the front; namely, saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, as they contribute to so many dietary diseases.  For those that don’t pay attention to the food label on the back of the packaging or are shopping quickly, this will provide a quick snapshot on the overall nutritional quality of the food by simply listing “high” or “low” instead of the percent daily value and amounts.  This will align with other countries, as many have front-of-packaging grades, symbols, and rankings to let consumers quickly size up the health status of a food product.  You might have noticed this if you’ve been in a grocery store in the United Kingdom, Chili, Australia, France, and Argentina.

These proposals are still in the works.  But with changes on the horizon, you may soon notice your everyday foods having a different look on the package.

Featured image by Sergey Ryzhov – stock.adobe.com

References:

A fresh take on what “healthy” means on food packages.  (2022).  Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fresh-take-what-healthy-means-food-packages

Front of pack labelling around the world (2020).  Retrieved from https://www.igd.com/Social-Impact/Health/Articles/Front-of-pack-labelling-around-the-world/33386

Use of the term healthy on food labeling.  (2024).  Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/use-term-healthy-food-labeling#background

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