NFI, FMI push back against US FDA's "unnecessary" new food labeling proposal

An example of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed front-of-package labeling
An example of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposed front-of-package labeling | Image courtesy of U.S. Food and Drug Administration
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The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and other organizations are concerned about new front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labels the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing for most packaged U.S. food products.

The FDA said the new nutrition labels would give consumers “readily visible information about a food’s saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars content – three nutrients directly linked with chronic diseases when consumed in excess.”

The “Nutrition Info box” that would appear on the front of packaged food products would show whether the food has “Low,” “Med,” or “High” levels of saturated fat, sodium, and sugar. The FDA said it would complement the existing Nutrition Facts label, which gives consumers more detailed information about nutrients in foods. 

While the FDA said it would help better inform consumers, NFI President and CEO Lisa Wallenda Picard said the new labels would likely end up doing the exact opposite.

“We are disappointed that the FDA is proposingstill more significant, unnecessary regulation in the waning hours of the Biden administration,” Picard said. “The proposed front-of-package labeling is redundant and could deliver an inaccurate message to consumers including healthy seafood in their diets.”

By focusing on saturated fats, the FDA “misses the point and misleads label readers,” Picard said.

“Fish, such as salmon, contain almost entirely unsaturated essential omega-3s, the healthiest fatty acids found in any protein,” she said. “Meanwhile, the planned labeling provides no way to highlight nutritious components of the product, including for fish, such as the unsaturated fats associated with brain and heart health.”

Picard said when it takes office, the Trump administration should withdraw the proposal in its entirety because for seafood products, the label would be ...


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