Proposed changes to nutrition labels and marketing food to children

The nutrition labels on packaged food and beverages may be due a makeover, thanks to proposals from the Food and Drug Administration.

The agency is accepting public comment on the proposed changes for 90 days. If passed, the proposed changes will mark the first major overhaul for nutrition labels since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made them compulsory 20 years ago.

FDA officials say that the redesign has been prompted by a shift in shoppers' priorities. They claim that nutrition is now better understood by consumers, and paying attention to what it says on the label plays an important role in that understanding.

Last month, the US Department of Agriculture reported that 42% of adults between 29 and 68 - and 57% of Americans over 68 - take nutrition labeling into account most or all of the time when shopping.

In 2007, a similar survey found that only 34% of working-age Americans and 51% of seniors took labeling into consideration when purchasing food.

By comparison, in 2012 Medical News Today reported on a study finding that, in Europe, nutritional labeling is largely being ignored by consumers.

Introduced to food packaging in the 1960s - primarily for people with special dietary needs - nutrition labeling was voluntary until 1990, when the FDA began to request labels for prepared and packaged food. This followed a trend that saw fewer Americans preparing meals at home, compared with previous decades.

Renewed focus on calories and added sugars

The proposed changes are designed to make finding healthier foods easier. The new labels will focus more on calories, added sugars and certain nutrients.

"By revamping the Nutrition Facts label, FDA wants to make it easier than ever for consumers to make better informed food choices that will support a healthy diet," says Michael R. Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. "To help address obesity, one of the most important public health problems facing our country, the proposed label would drive attention to calories and serving sizes."

Instead of including the current "calories from fat" information displayed on labels, the redesigned information will now focus on the total calories found in each serving.