FDA delays deadline for nutrition labels

If you were hoping for more accurate nutrition labels on everything from ice cream to breakfast cereal, you’re going to have to wait a little longer.

The Food and Drug Administration plans to delay the deadline for revamped nutrition food labels, pushing it back from July 26, 2018, though companies with annual food sales of less than $10 million had been given an extra year to comply.

No new date has been set, according to FDA spokeswoman Deborah Kotz.

The postponement comes in response to companies’ and trade groups’ requests for more time.

The Nutrition Facts panel printed on food products lists information like the number of calories, serving size and the amount of fat, cholesterol, fiber and sugar.

“Numerous stakeholders have informed us that they have significant concerns about their ability to update all their labels by the compliance date due to issues regarding (among other things) the need for upgrades to labeling software, getting nutrition information from suppliers, the number of products that would need new labels and a limited time for the reformulation of products,” the FDA explained.

Changes to the new nutritional food label include the calorie count and serving size shown more prominently and more detail about added sugar and updated recommended daily intake values.

In addition, serving sizes have gotten larger, reflecting the reality of Americans’ eating habits. For example, a pint of ice cream will contain three, not four, servings on the new labels. Soft drinks in both 12-ounce and 20-ounce bottles of drinks will be identified as single serving. The current serving size requirements are 24 years old, according to the FDA.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama was a proponent of the new food labels.

Read more at USAToday.com