New food labeling system: Tastes good, less filling?

At a joint press conference yesterday, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) presented a new labeling system for store-bought food. While the current system of nutrition labels on the back of items will be maintained, it will be supplemented — possibly by the end of this year — with larger, easier to read “keys” noting each product’s calorie content, sodium, fat and sugar levels.

While long-time food industry critics Kelly Brownell and Michael Jacobson immediately attacked the plan, ACSH’s Cheryl Martin welcomes it, observing that the present labeling system is often difficult to read, and that this appears to be a clear, concise addition and improvement to it.

ACSH's Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, however, questions the prominent inclusion of sodium labeling, noting that “there is limited evidence that sodium ingestion is causal for hypertension.”