In lieu of declining health within the general American population, the FDA proposes added sugar percentage to be shown on labels in order for people to be better informed and make wiser decisions on their diets. Although the percentage of the population indulging in unhealthy food has dropped, the amount of sugar intake is still an issue to be addressed.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently proposed that Nutrition Facts Labels to include the percentage daily value for added sugars in the United States. The information is meant to inform consumers of not only the grams, but also the proper percentage which might help them make better decisions regarding sugar intake.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee presses on the fact that the information should be displayed the daily value in percentage, so that the population may compare it to the daily requirement or manage to limit themselves better within their dietary plans. As such, the FDA advises that the percentage of added sugar should not exceed 10% of the average person’s daily calories.
For example, a representative of the company has stated that consumers should know a 20 ounce soda has 130% of the recommended daily percentage of added sugar, thus, the FDA puts forward the motion of adding that vital information on the Nutrition Fact Label for all sugary drinks or foods. The daily percent value would indicate how much a nutrient or product contributes to a consumer’s diet.
The notion has not exactly been met with standing ovations by the Sugar Association, a representant of the sugar industry, claiming that the proposal has a definitive lack of “adequate scientific evidence” and is based on “limited and weak scientific evidence found in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines report”, which greatly discourages sugar consumption.
And oddly, the FDA’s proposal would far exceed the Dietary Guidelines reports from 2015 in scientific integrity. The Sugar Association has stated that they will continue to oppose the motion of adding daily percentage value to the Nutrition Facts label, although several others substances are featured, such as added fat, cholesterol, iron, sodium, calcium and dietary fiber.
The Food and Drug Administration has also called for consumers to cut their daily intake of added sugars to at least 10%, for the sake of preventing future health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart issues or cancer.
Starting today, July 27th, the proposal is open to the public for comments and will be for the next 75 days, as ultimately, it is the general population who knows best what it wants to know before purchasing a product.
Image source: modvive.com
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