How Food Label Packages Could be Changing

January 14, 2025

The FDA today announced a potential change to food labeling that would require “at-a-glance” nutrition information on the front of most packaged foods.

The proposed change comes amid a period of transition for the FDA and the nation’s other health agencies, which will see nominees (login required) for key leadership posts up for confirmation in the coming weeks.

FDA officials said the proposal is “part of a government-wide effort in combatting the nation’s chronic disease crisis.”

“The science on saturated fat, sodium and added sugars is clear,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, MD. “Nearly everyone knows or cares for someone with a chronic disease that is due, in part, to the food we eat.”

Here’s what you need to know:

• The proposal:   The proposal would give consumers information about a food’s saturated fat, sodium and added sugars content.
• Rationale:   These nutrients are directly linked with chronic diseases when they are overconsumed, federal officials said.
  • The initiative also is part of a White House National Strategy to address hunger, nutrition, and health.
• By the numbers:  About 60 percent of American’s have at least one chronic disease, driving $4.5 trillion in annual health care costs.
• Next steps:  The proposed rule would require food manufacturers to add a Nutrition Info box to most packaged food products three years after the final rule’s effective date.
  • It would apply first to businesses with $10 million or more in annual food sales.
  • Four years after the final rule’s effective date, businesses with less than $10 million in annual food sales also would have to comply.  
• Quotable:  “We are fully committed to pulling all the levers available to the FDA to make nutrition information readily accessible as part of our efforts to promote public health,” Califf said.

Comments on the proposed rule  must be submitted by May 16, 2025.