FDA Introduces Nutrition Facts Label Online

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is aiming to make it easier to explore and interpret the information on the Nutrition Facts label with its new Nutrition Facts Label Online tool.

The online resource offers an overview of the current Nutrition Facts label and an in-depth look at specific nutrients and their role in one’s daily diet, along with action tips simplifying the agency’s advice for using the label to make informed choices and manage specific nutrients visitors may wish to get more or less of. Additional features include:

• What’s on the Label allows users to tour various sections of the label, and then focus on the nutrients they’re most interested in. For each nutrient, there’s information on what it is, where it's found, what it does, and how it relates to one’s daily diet. 
• Ingredient List offers tips for using this section on food and beverage packaging, usually found below the Nutrition Facts label, to identify whole grain ingredients, saturated fats and added sugars, among other items. 
• Nutrition Glossary organizes common nutrition-related terms in alphabetical order with simple definitions.
• Resources provides links to additional information from FDA and other government partners, for further research on nutrition-related topics.
• Downloadables offers printable nutrition fact sheets to keep and share.

Users can also bookmark the interactive tool for use in meal planning and refer to it on a mobile device while shopping.

FDA has issued final changes to update the Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect the latest scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases, and plans to emphasize the major changes and improvements coming over the next two to three years.