FDA official: We’re working to finalize updates to nutrition labels

An official with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the agency is working to finalize rules this year to update nutrition facts labels before it looks at whether to regulate when and how nutrient content claims can be made on food labels.

Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said the agency requested public input on how to define the term “natural” and received a citizens petition to review what it means to be “healthy.” 

“We are certainly aware of consumer interest in both of these terms, “natural” and “healthy,” she said, while detailing some of the agency’s rulemaking priories at the Grocery Manufacturers Association Science Forum on Tuesday.

Members of food, beverage and consumer product industries have come to the four-day event to discuss topics, including genetically engineered foods, product labeling and government regulations. 

The FDA has proposed updating the serving sizes, changing the format of the nutrition facts label to make calories, serving sizes and percent daily value more prominent and adding a percent daily value for added sugars.

The agency is also working on drafting voluntary target levels for food producers to promote the gradual reduction of sodium in the nation’s food supply.