The Food and Drug Administration on Friday moved forward with a controversial proposal requiring food nutrition labels to include the amounts of "added sugars" — meaning sugar not in the food before it was produced and packaged.
Rather than merely requiring information about the amount of added sugars, the FDA said it also will require manufacturers to include what percentage the sugar adds to a person's daily recommended intake. Agency officials said the move would help consumers better understand how the sugar they eat contributes to the calories they consume.
"The FDA has a responsibility to give consumers the information they need to make informed dietary decisions," said Susan Mayne, director of the agency's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, noting that food labels have similar information for dietary fiber, sodium and saturated fat.
The measure is part of an overhaul of the Nutrition Facts label, which has been unchanged for two decades.
Washington Post
