How Would You Change Nutrition Labels?

How many times have you gone to the store, bought an individually-packaged food item or beverage, eaten it — and then only afterthe fact noticed that the serving size was half of what you just consumed?

Because of the way many foods are labeled, this is a pretty common occurrance. Sodas are frequently sold in 12 or 20 ounce sizes — but the nutrition facts label reflects the calorie and sugar content of an 8 ounce serving.

The Food and Drug Administration is proposing new rules on nutrition labels to make it easier to make healthier choices. One proposal: changing serving sizes and nutrition information to reflect actual marketed portion size for individually-packaged foods and beverages.

The FDA is also proposing revising labels to place a bigger emphasis on total calories, added sugars, and certain nutrients such as potassium and Vitamin D. Calories and serving size would have a much larger type font, with more emphasis on daily value recommendations for fat, sodium, carbohydrates and fiber.

Beginning Monday, the FDA will open a 90-day comment period, during which the public can provide input on the proposed rules. If you’d like to make a comment, click here to provide feedback on the proposed label changes, or click here to comment on the serving size labeling proposals.