Democratic Party sponsors in the House and Senate have introduced new legislation that would create a single standard for front of package labeling for food products. The bill would create definitions to address the use of terms such as "natural" and "made with whole grain" that may give the impression that certain foods are more healthful than they really are.
The Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2015, according to Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ), Rep. Rosa DeLaura (CT) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (CT), is needed because major food labeling provisions have not been made to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act since 1990. The result is that consumers do not have the information they need on packages to make fully informed decisions.
"Childhood obesity has nearly tripled in the past 30 years and is a huge public health problem in this country that puts millions of American children at risk. Healthy eating is critical to combating this epidemic. That is why it is so important that when families make the effort to eat nutritious, healthy food, the labels on food products help them make the right choices — not confuse or mislead them," said Rep. Pallone in a press release to announce the legislation.
"When 'whole grain' waffles can be made with white flour and 'all natural' ingredients can contain synthetic high-fructose corn syrup, it's clear our food labels are due for a makeover," Laura MacCleery, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science and Public Interest, said in statement published by The Hill.