Experts Push To Include Added Sugars On Food Labels
By Isaac Fletcher, contributing writer, Food Online
Among other recent efforts to create more informative and helpful nutritional labels, public health advocates are urging the FDA to force food producers to disclose information on added sugars in hopes of lowering the rates of diseases associated with the overconsumption of sugar
In a recent letter to the FDA, 280 scientists, physicians, and public health advocates pushed for the inclusion of a specific line disclosing added sugar on the nutrition labels of foods. There has not been a food label update by the FDA since 1994, and various public health coalitions hope to see updated labels better reflect the added sugar in food products.
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Organized by the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, the letter includes many signers from Healthy Food Action, a national network of health professionals. The letter’s co-authors include Dr. Robert Lustig, UCSF professor of pediatrics and author of Fat Chance, and Dr. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University.
Overconsumption of sugar is known to contribute to health issues such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The average American consumes 82 grams of sugar each day, an amount well over the level recommended by the World Health Organization and American Heart Association. In the letter, public health advocates argue, “This cannot be solved without public education. Many food and beverage manufacturers add excessive amounts of sugar to their products, including those that they market as healthy options.” They go on to say, “In our current food environment, many people are unknowingly and unavoidably consuming excess sugar. Given our soaring rates of chronic diseases and the link between sugar and these diseases, citizens have a right to know how much sugar has been added to their foods.”
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The FDA is also urged to include a daily maximum sugar value on the updated food labels so consumers can measure how each product fits their diet. Experts recommend an upper limit of 10 percent of one’s daily calories from added sugar, or about 50 grams. The experts also acknowledge that voluntary labeling efforts, like the Grocery Manufacturers Association’s Facts Up Front initiative, “Play a limited role in consumer education,” but argue that they are not entirely effective and can confuse consumers. Furthermore, many voluntary labeling initiatives do not include added sugars.