Front-of-pack food labeling gets focus ahead of White House conference

The idea of requiring nutrition labels on the front of food packages to disclose sugar and fat content is getting increased attention ahead of the first White House conference in more than half a century on hunger and nutrition policy.

An official task force report informing the conference has included front-of-package nutrition labels in its recommended policy actions. “It would be really silly not to take what was in those recommendations very, very seriously,” said Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association.

The report specifically calls upon the Food and Drug Administration to “develop an effective front-of-package (FOP) labeling scheme that uses or is based on a transparent, uniform, and science-based nutrient profiling system or specific nutritional parameters.”

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Industry, advocates clash over advice on added sugars, beverage intake

The Sugar Association, for instance, warned the committee that a blanket focus on reducing added sugar is unlikely to help address the issue of obesity in the US. While added sugar intake in the US has been declining, obesity rates have continued to climb, the group noted. “Evidence shows that a singular focus on added sugars in the US has not decreased obesity,” Campbell Genn, the Sugar Association’s director of nutrition policy, told the committee[…]

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“Sugar is a versatile and irreplaceable functional ingredient in food,” says Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Assn. “It’s the gold standard for taste and is a familiar ingredient that has been used for generations—often for reasons that have little to do with its sweet flavor. These functional properties range from balancing acidity, browning or adding bulk to preventing spoilage through its moisture retention properties.”

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