In the near months, the Food and Drug Administration might make reading nutritional labels a bit better or slightly more complicated depending on what you believe. According to a new proposal, the FDA would like to add additional information about added sugars to our food labels. The agency requested public commentary, allowing consumers to comment on whether or not the plan would be a beneficial one.
There has been both support and disdain surrounding it.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, and the American Heart Association all back the FDA’s proposal. In a statement, the AHA explains the benefits of a supplementary sugar label,
“In addition to the AHA, the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, MyPlate.gov, and countless other sources of dietary guidance recommend that consumers limit consumption of added sugars. Yet this can be difficult to do because added sugars are not currently included on the Nutrition Facts label. While ‘sugars’ is listed, the Nutrition Facts label does not distinguish between naturally occurring sugars such as those found in fruit or milk, which are associated with other important components inherent to foods such as vitamins and minerals, and added sugars, which are not.”
Yet other organizations, such as the National Dairy Council, The National Milk Producers Federation, and the Sugar Association, all object the proposal, worrying that it will mislead or confuse the public.
What do you think? Are nutritional labels clear already or are you in agreement with added labels for sugar?