The FDA is set to impose major changes to nutrition labels
on food packages for the first time in over 20 years. The organization sites
the need to bring labels up to speed with the contemporary American diet as a
catalyst for the change. New labels are meant to be easier to understand and
will be based on expanded portion sizes. Added sugars are in the center of the
change with new labels making the distinction between natural and manufactured
sugar additives. Many in the FDA and other nutritionists explain that the
expensive change is necessary in the fight against obesity in the US. Even First
Lady Michelle Obama praised the initiative and promoted the changes at the anniversary celebration for her “Let’s Move”
campaign aimed at reducing obesity.
Consumers have a right to know what they are putting into
their body. However, some new label requirements could force food and beverage
companies to put nutritional information both good and bad on the front of
their packaging. Could this potentially impact the branding and packaging of
these products? What about products high in added sugar? Does this change damage
their brand? What impact will these changes have on the way consumers view food
and beverage products?
It is important that the FDA is taking effort to make consumers more aware of the things that they are eating. They have proposed some great changes in order to make it easier for consumers to understand packaging and nutrition labels. This will definitely hurt brands that disguise their unhealthy foods as healthy foods, but I also think that marketers always find a new angle to market their product from and may be able to find another way to make their product appealing to the consumer. Even with the new regulations regarding sugar, I still think brands will find a way to disguise this and highlight other attributes of their product that will make the consumer buy it. Also, I appreciate their efforts to make the nutritional information more noticeable, but I still do not think that will attract everyone's attention. I think that ultimately it comes down to whether or not the consumer actually wants to take the time or will take the time to read the nutritional information, and I do not think this will make every consumer begin to. I do not expect these changes to completely revolutionize the way consumers choose which foods to eat and buy immediately, but I do think it is a step in the right direction. Making the American public aware of what they are eating will be a slow process, but I do see this as a stepping stone in the right direction.
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