FDA Proposal on Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling Is a Good First Step for Food Transparency

Washington, DCLaura MacCleery, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy of UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, issued today the following statement in response to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announcement of a proposed rule to require a front-of-package (FOP) nutrition label for packaged foods:    

“Addressing America’s costly and tragic epidemic of chronic disease requires bold, evidence-based measures. We applaud yesterday’s proposal from FDA as a good first step towards giving busy shoppers more usable health information about the foods they buy. The proposed labeling reflects bipartisan policies that support consumer freedom and help shoppers, including Latinos, make healthier choices that prevent chronic diseases.   

“Several countries in Latin America already use front-of-package nutrition labels, and strong evidence shows that they help families make more informed choices and incentivize food companies to innovate with healthier products. Studies show that lower-income and working-class consumers are not as well-served as others by current nutrition labeling. The Latino community faces high levels of diet-related health conditions, including heart disease and diabetes, and simple, easy-to-use indicators will assist them in making healthy choices. 

 “It is critical that the information on salt, added sugars and saturated fat be marked as ‘high, medium or low,’ as these are quick and clear indicators. We look forward to the comment period to advocate for an even more compelling design to convey accessible information that works across language barriers. Every consumer can benefit from clear information on foods, and we will be pushing for small but essential improvements to this proposal as it moves forward at FDA.”