GREENSBORO, N.C. — When you’re shopping, all the items on the shelf have their best face forward. You have to physically pick up the item to see what's in it, as in the calories, the added sugars, and the nutritional values.
Some health experts are pushing the FDA to consider labels that are on the front of the items alerting consumers to the amount of saturated fat, salt, and sugar.
Countries in Europe and South America already have this type of packaging.
"This is something that has been used in other countries, been shown to be effective it's time for the United States to play, catch up," said Peter Lurie, Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Lurie believes the more accessible the information, the more likely the consumer is to make the healthier choice. But manufacturers say they just want the FDA to consider more options.
“It seems to be oddly constrained to some degree, again, they're not looking at, for example, calorie disclosures, which we have asked them to include, uh, they're not looking at disclosures around positive nutrients, uh, which I think are important to consumers as well,” said David Chavern, Consumer Brand Association.
When could you see these front labels? The FDA is still researching the labels. The hope is there will be a decision next year, if it is approved, the front labels will be a few years off.
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