In today's society, it's becoming more and more common to pay attention and read the nutrition facts on packaged foods. Just because people read them, doesn't necessarily mean that everyone actually understands the words and numbers that are presented. The frustration can also grow when the serving sizes are never realistic, or when one doesn't catch this, thinking that the whole package is one serving size. Its all been done before, but now the FDA is finally making some changes to the look and format of the nutrition label.
When one looks at the nutrition label, calories seem to be the first thing they search for. Not only will the calories now be a bigger type size, so will the serving size and the number of servings per container. This means that these specific nutrition facts will be brought to the attention of the consumer, allowing them to be more informed about the food that they will be eating. In addiction to the change of font, the daily value percentage of vitamin D, calcium, iron and potassium will also have to be present. Not only do these facts have to be present, but more information about what exactly the "percent daily value" means will also be there. This is because not everyone knows what the percent daily value even means, making the information almost useless. The amount of "added sugars" will also be required for the nutrition label.
Not only will the look of the nutrition label be changed, but so will the serving sizes. A serving size is not a just a random measurement made up by the producers; it's supposed to be the average amount of the product that people consume in one sitting. The serving sizes today aren't very practical, if fact, most people tend to eat double of what the serving size is. What was once a serving size of a 1/2 of a cup, will now increase to 2/3 of a cup. As for drinks, what was once 6 or 8 ounces per serving, it will now be 12 ounces. However, the size of the packaging will also have an effect on the serving size. By that I mean if one purchases a bottle of pop that is 20 ounces, the nutrition label will provide the facts for the whole bottle, because the intent is to finish the bottle in once sitting. As far as products that could be consumed in once sitting but could also last two or three, these will end of having two different nutrition charts. One will be for the full container or package, and the other will be for the serving size.
Side by side view of the current nutrition label and the modified one from the FDA's website.
I for one am more than pleased with these new changes. Not only are consumers being more informed about what they're eating, but the predicted consumption is also more realistic. All manufacturers will have until July 26th, 2018 to make this adjustments, which will only help to educate and bring awareness to consumers in the U.S.
