These labels offered the possibility of making a healthy, appropriate food choice without having to take the time to fully scrutinize the nutrition facts panel on the back of the food item. However, a lack of uniformity in the way foods were labeled made it confusing for customers who eventually began to distrust the information provided on front-of-package labels.
In response to a March 2010 plea from First Lady Michelle Obama, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) have developed and released a new front-of-package labeling system called Nutrition Keys. The members of these organizations consist of the vast majority of food and drink manufacturers in the U.S., which will be important in getting these new front-of-package labels on the majority of food items on grocery store shelves.
The Nutrition Keys front-of-package labeling system is reported to be a fact-based approach that is based on recommendations set forth by the Institute of Medicine and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This new front-of-package labeling system will consistently include 4 basic pieces of information, the amount of calories and three nutrients to limit (saturated fat, sodium, and sugar), unless the package is too small in which case only calories will likely be presented. Food manufacturers will also be allowed to highlight up to 2 nutrients to encourage, which include potassium, fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, and iron. In most cases, I expect that the front-of-package label will include the optional two nutrients to encourage since this could be a valuable marketing tool for the food manufacturer.
The Nutrition Keys front-of-package labeling is expected to start appearing on packages in the next several months and is supposed to be accompanied by an extensive consumer education campaign.
This new front-of-package labeling system appears to be a step in the right direction; however, more could likely have been done. Including the three nutrients to limit is important as is showing the % Daily Value of these nutrients. However, one still has to know what those values mean in order to understand whether the value presented is good or bad. In the press release's example label, one serving provides 25% of the daily value of saturated fat. Anything over 20% is considered to be high, so this food item would be a high source of saturated fat and possibly an item we might want to avoid. This label also does not indicate which nutrients are good and which nutrients are bad; so the consumers have to know that information themselves in order to truly make an informed decision. Perhaps the education campaign by the food industry will address these points, but we won't know that for a few months yet. It might have been helpful if the words "nutrients to limit" and "nutrients to encourage" appeared above or below the icons and if the daily values were color-coded to highlight low, moderate, or high values. So while this is a step in the right direction, it remains to be seen if this new front-of-package labeling system has a positive impact on our food choices and eating habits.
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