Today’s FDA Decision on Food Labeling is the Right One
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an indefinite delay in the launch of new food labeling mandates put forward by the Obama administration. CEI consumer policy expert Michelle Minton praised the move:
Today’s decision by the Trump administration to delay a new round of food labeling mandates was the right decision. Nutrition information is important to American consumers, but federal regulators were about to impose burdens on our nation’s food companies while making nutrition labels harder for consumers to interpret. Including “added sugars” and “total sugars” on a label can be confusing, with some consumers unsure which number they should consider when making decisions about their diet and health. Worse, studies find that altering serving sizes from a recommended portion to what people typically eat per serving—one of the proposed label changes—actually results in people eating more food. If the FDA is going to enact regulations that provide value to consumers, those regulations must be based on science – not just good intentions.
CEI fellow Michelle Minton has authored reports on the politics of sodium and on the problem with soda taxes. See: