The FDA Just Quietly Put The Brakes On This

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it was delaying a planned update to the Nutrition Facts label, a move that prompted a giant, collective “Woohoo!” from monolithic food companies pretty much everywhere.

“The agency is mindful of the importance of balancing its mission of protecting public health with the practicalities of implementing the amended labeling requirements,” the FDA said in a statement.

The updated label highlights calories using a large, bold font. It also includes added sugars.

The label was unveiled during the Obama administration. It was set to go into effect in the summer of 2018 for large companies and a year later for small companies. The move was praised by everyone from national consumer advocacy groups to doctors and nutritionists here in the Upper Valley.

Don’t look for this anytime soon.

But according to the Los Angeles Times, the Trump administration is rolling back the update due to “significant concerns” from “numerous stakeholders” about the ability to meet the 2018 deadline.

“There’s been a lot of lobbying from food companies,” Jim O’Hara, director of health promotion policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told the Times. “They’re worried about having to disclose added sugar.”

The new deadline? Right now, there isn’t one.

The FDA said it will provide details “at a later time.”

Nourish. Cultivate. Cooperate.

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Ken Davis

Ken Davis

Ken Davis is the Co-op's senior copywriter. Email him at kdavis@coopfoodstore.com.