The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed requiring that nutrition labels be placed on the front of most packaged foods as part of efforts to combat the nation’s chronic disease crisis.

The FDA stated on Jan. 14 that it aims to provide at-a-glance information about saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, which could potentially increase the risk of chronic diseases if consumed in excess amounts.

Dubbed the “Nutrition Info box,” the labels would indicate whether the food contains low, medium, or high levels of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars, according to the agency.

“Low” would indicate that a food contains 5 percent or less of the daily value of a substance, “High” would signify 20 percent or more, and any amount between these thresholds would be called “Med” for medium.

The nutrition info box would complement the FDA’s nutrition facts label, which offers more detailed information and is typically placed on the back of packaged foods.

“The science on saturated fat, sodium and added sugars is clear,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said in a statement. “Nearly everyone knows or cares for someone with a chronic disease that is due, in part, to the food we eat. It is time we make it easier for consumers to glance, grab and go. Adding front-of-package nutrition labeling to most packaged foods would do that.”

The FDA stated that 60 percent of Americans have at least one chronic disease, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and that research indicates that excessive consumption of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugars is a major contributing factor.

Chronic diseases are a leading cause of disability and death in the United States and cost $4.5 trillion in annual health care expenses, according to the FDA.

“In addition to our goal of providing information to consumers, it’s possible we’ll see manufacturers reformulate products to be healthier in response to front-of-package nutrition labeling,” Jim Jones, deputy commissioner for human foods at the FDA, said in a statement.

The proposal was published after the FDA conducted an experimental study involving nearly 10,000 U.S. adults to identify which types of front-of-package labels enabled participants “to make quicker and more accurate assessments of the healthfulness of a product” based on its saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar levels.

“The black and white Nutrition Info scheme with the percent daily value performed best in helping consumers identify healthier food options,” the FDA stated.

Public comments on the proposal are open until May 16.

If finalized, the rule would require food manufacturers with $10 million or more in annual food sales to add a nutrition info box to the front of most packaged food products within three years of its effective date, while businesses with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have four years to add the labels after the final rule takes effect.

Industry Reactions

Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said in a statement that the FDA’s proposal marked an “important step” toward enabling consumers to make informed, healthy choices.

“For decades, the Nutrition Facts label has been an essential tool to educate people across the country about the nutritional content of their food and drinks, but high rates of diet-related illnesses continue to show that additional actions are needed to address the confusion and barriers consumers face in evaluating and identifying better options,” she said.

“We look forward to reviewing and providing feedback on FDA’s proposal and working closely with the new administration to make front-of-pack nutrition labeling a reality in this country.”

Jennifer Hatcher, chief public policy officer of the Food Industry Association, raised concerns about whether the proposed requirement might result in increased costs. Hatcher also questioned the labels’ effectiveness in educating consumers.

“While we are continuing to review the specifics of the proposed rule, we are concerned that the FOP scheme would be required to appear on the upper third of the principal display panel,” Hatcher said in a statement. “This would require a redesign of most packaging labels and displace other important information like date labels, leading to significant cost increases with limited corresponding benefit to public health.”

The proposed nutrition labels came just a month after the FDA announced a final rule updating the definition of the “healthy” claim on food products.

To qualify for the “healthy” label, products must contain foods outlined in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans—such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains—and meet certain limits for saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar content, the agency stated on Dec. 19, 2024.

Saturated Fat Versus Other Fats

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has indicated that, if confirmed, his team will likely look to review the comprehensiveness of HHS—which oversees various agencies including the FDA—and the Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is updated every five years based on the latest research.

Kennedy has been a public advocate for the use of certain natural, unprocessed saturated fats, such as beef tallow, in cooking instead of highly processed vegetable and seed oils, such as canola, which, for many years, were promoted for their high unsaturated fat content.

It was later found that the processing of these oils created some harmful trans fats, spurring some to reconsider the role of stable, natural saturated fats as part of a balanced diet. Some intake of saturated fats is also needed by the body because of their role in hormone production, maintaining cell membrane integrity, and brain health.

Kennedy said in a post on social media platform X in August 2024 that animal-derived saturated fat has been “demonized for decades” based on “flawed science.”

He pointed to “the rise of processed foods and the replacement of saturated fat in our diets with highly processed seed oils” as being among the potential causes of chronic diseases he’s investigated.

Kennedy advocates eliminating ultra-processed foods because of their added trans fats, starches, and sugars.

The dietary guidelines for 2025–2030 are scheduled to be published later this year.

Matt McGregor contributed to this report