The New Food Label
by Ngozi Osuagwu, MD | February 9th, 2020
I am always looking at labels particularly the calorie count when I buy food. Recently,I knew something was different but could not figure out what changed.I googled food label and realized indeed the new food label took effect on January 1, 2020 at least for companies with $10 million in annual sales. With companies making less in annual sales, they will have to comply by 2021.
The new label is meant to reflect the link between diet and chronic diseases like obesity and heart disease. Here is what has changed:
- Servings – it has been updated to reflect what people actually eat. It did not make sense to have a bag of chips knowing that people usually eat the whole bag and call it two servings. The serving size font is larger.
- Calories- you cannot miss it. It is bolder and larger.
- Calories from fat has been removed – research shows that the type of fat that one consumes is more important than the amount.
- Added sugars – you will now know how much sugar has been added during processing of the food. You want this number less than 10%.
- Nutrients – vitamin D and potassium have been added because we are not getting the recommended amount.
When I read the food label, I think of the 5/20 rule. I want to make sure that the bad nutrients like sodium and cholesterol are close to 5% or less of daily value and the good nutrients like fiber or vitamin D close to or even exceed 20%.
For more on the new food label, please click here.
