The Food Labeling by the FDA Essay

Summary The FDA, also known as the Food and Drug Administration is planning to update the standards on food labeling, which is currently over 20 years old. The new label would follow the lifestyle of many Americans and increase the serving size as the amount Americans consume has increased over time. The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act dictates that it should be done based on real consumption, not a recommendation for what should be consumed. They believe that the change would help consumers see what they are actually consuming when they purchase the product.

During a study, 80% of people surveyed believed that the serving size on a label was a suggestion for what they should eat, not what was usually consumed in one sitting. Following this, they did another study. Participants were split into two groups, both eating the same snack and were allowed to eat as much as they wanted. Each group was given a different label, one with a serving size that is currently on labels and another that contained serving sizes that would be similar to the new labels. Participants given the new label consumed 41 percent more than those with the current label. 

The FDA also plans to update the font and design of these labels, they believe that in doing so, consumers will be able to make a more informed decision based on the attractiveness of the label. (Dallas, Liu, and Ubel 2015)

Ethical Analysis The proposed FDA label change follows the guidelines of the current law, however it does not mean that it will help fulfill the goals of the FDA. Currently, Britain has updated their labels to help consumers make healthier choices. They have added what they call Traffic Lights to their food labels. Just as you could imagine, Red lights deem the product as unhealthy, while green lights mean that they are a healthy snack. Sales of the unhealthy snacks have dropped 4 percent, while healthy products have seen a 5 percent gain. Although these are not dramatic changes, they believe that its a positive response in the early stages of their changes. (Dallas, Liu, and Ubel, 2015)

On the other hand, the FDA has included in their proposal a significant change, hoping for positive response. Currently, only the daily values for some ingredients are listed on the products that you can purchase. One controversial change is the daily value of sugar. (Aubrey, 2015) Currently, you can buy a soda and it will tell you how many grams are in the bottle, however does anyone really know how much that is? Edney (2015) explains, The FDA plans to set the percent daily value based on an added sugar limit of 50 grams for adults and children ages 4 and older and 25 grams for children ages 1 to 3. The proposal is based on the recommendation that consumers daily intake of calories from added sugar not exceed 10 percent of total calories, according to a statement from the FDA.