The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking to propose the inclusion of front-of-package warning labels that detail the calorie, fat, sugar and salt content of various processed food and drink products.
The agency plans to make a formal proposal in October, a little over two years after the FDA first considered implementing a new nutrition labeling system. In August 2022, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), along with the Association of SNAP Nutrition Education Administrators (ASNNA) and the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN) urged the FDA to “use its authority to establish a simple, standardized, evidence-based, and mandatory front-of-package labeling system for all packaged foods sold in the United States.”
Since then, the FDA has assessed several front-of-package label options, including a “Traffic Light” system that would use red, yellow and green color codes to denote the levels of sugars, sodium and saturated fats in certain food products. Red would indicate the highest levels while green would indicate the lowest levels. Another option foregoes the color codes and explicitly details the high content of such ingredients.
The FDA has yet to send a draft of the proposed rule to the White House budget office for review, The Washington Post reported Friday. White House spokesperson Kelly Scully told the outlet that front-of-package labels are “one of the many key deliverables” in the Biden administration’s public health strategy.
Front-of-package labels hope to fight rising obesity rates and reduce the prevalence of other health conditions, like diabetes and heart disease.