SAN DIEGO — When was the last time you really looked at the nutritional labels on your food? Recently, the Food and Drug Administration made some changes to make them easier to read. Registered dietitian from Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group, Erin Peisach, joined Morning Extra to explain the changes that you will see.
Some of the changes include:
Serving size:
- You will now see some of the serving sizes based on the amount of food customarily consumed by people. (e.g. soda, ice cream, soup) with serving size listed in common household measurements (e.g. cups rather than grams)
- Some foods that contain more than one serving per container, but are often consumed in one sitting will have a dual column listing the nutrition facts per serving & per package.
Mandatory nutrient labeling:
- You will now see vitamin D and potassium replacing vitamins A & C on the labels due to their public health significance. Iron and calcium will remain on the labels, and then any other nutrient can be listed on a voluntary basis. Also, the percent daily value (DV) and the total amount in mg/mcg of the nutrient will be listed.
Added sugars/Total sugars:
- This will help people to realize how much added sugar compared to naturally occurring sugar they are eating.
Removed “calories from fat” from the label:
- Recognize it’s the type of fat (saturated vs unsaturated), not the calories from fat that matters most for health purposes.
Nutrition labels can be tough for anyone to read, especially when they are in a hurry, but it’s important to take your time with any product you consume to regularly examine the label in closer detail.