TFAH Statement on the FDA Releasing a Proposed Updated Nutrition Facts Label

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Feb 27, 2014, 10:59 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement from Jeffrey Levi, PhD, executive director of Trust for America's Health (TFAH) on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) releasing a proposed updated nutrition facts label for public comment.

"TFAH commends FDA for releasing a proposed updated nutrition facts label for public comment, which, if finalized, would result in the first major changes in over 20 years.

Since the last update, research has provided new data on what constitutes a healthy diet and how Americans read and understand nutrition information.

The FDA proposal takes into account important aspects of this body of research. For example, FDA has proposed that labels contain information about added sugars in food products.

But the proposal doesn't go far enough. We were especially disappointed that the proposal fails to place the number of added sugars in proper context by requiring a daily recommended value to be included alongside the nutrition information.

To combat the obesity epidemic in this country, government at all levels should strive to make the healthy choice the easy choice. That includes strengthening and improving the tools we give to Americans to help them understand the nutrition facts about the food they eat.

TFAH looks forward to working with FDA to ensure everyone has the opportunity to live happy, healthy, informed and productive lives. FDA should be commended for moving forward and providing another step in the right direction in the fight against obesity."

Trust for America's Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority. www.healthyamericans.org

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SOURCE Trust for America's Health