(PresidentialWire.com)- The Biden administration may be forcing some rather big changes in regard to food labeling in the near future.
Before the Biden administration hosted the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced some rule changes related to food labeling.
One of those changes is taking the nutrition labels from the back of food packaging and moving them to the front. The FDA said this would help consumers “with lower nutrition literacy.”
The changes that the FDA announced are all in line with the push by President Joe Biden to attack hunger and overall health in the United States.
One of the biggest changes that the FDA has proposed is putting new regulations on foods that say they are “healthy” right on the packaging. The goal is to educate American consumers more on “nutrition literacy” as well as align the language put on food packaging with the most up-to-date nutritional guidance.
Foods that claim to be “healthy” on their packaging will now have to be better aligned with current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the updated Nutrition Facts label, as well as current guidelines coming out of nutrition science.
Salmon, for instance, is high in fat, but it will be allowed to be labeled as a “healthy” food now because it is nutrient-dense.
As the FDA said:
“The proposed rule would update the ‘healthy’ claim definition to better account for how all the nutrients in various food groups contribute and may work synergistically to create healthy dietary patterns and improve health.”
Dr. Robert Califf, the commissioner of the FDA explained further:
“Diet-related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, are the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. and disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minority groups. Today’s action is an important step toward accomplishing a number of nutrition-related priorities, which include empowering consumers with information to choose healthier diets and establishing healthy eating habits early. It can also result in a healthier food supply.”
All of these changes are part of the FDA’s new focus to improve dietary patterns and nutrition throughout the U.S., in an effort to reduce the overall health-care burden that chronic diseases cause, while advancing health equity at the same time.
The FDA says that 80% of all Americans don’t consume enough dairy, fruit and vegetables. Most also consume too much saturated fat, sodium and foods with added sugars.
When the announcement of these changes was made, Xavier Becerra, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, released a statement that read:
“Nutrition is key to improving our nation’s health. Healthy food can lower our risk for chronic disease. But, too many people may not know what constitutes healthy food. FDA’s move will help educate more Americans to improve health outcomes, tackle health disparities and save lives.”
In order for all these changes to be made, though, the Biden administration may have to rely on Congress to pass legislation that would allocate funding.
