Photo: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Local grocery shoppers seem to be in favor of a new proposal on nutrition labels.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed implementing front-of-package (FOP) nutritional labels for most packaged foods. If approved, the FOP nutritional labels would show customers “readily visible” information on the amount of saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars in the product.
The public has until May 16 to comment on the proposal, but even if it is finalized, it could take years for consumers to start seeing changes. Food companies making more than $10 million would have three years from the final rule’s effective date, while those making less than $10 million would have four years.
When WBZ NewsRadio’s Chris Fama asked local consumers if they would be in favor of the FOP nutritional labels, everyone answered with a resounding yes.
“Whoopty doo,” said one woman sarcastically. “When are they going to stop poisoning us? If you look at the food labels for the same foods in Europe, the U.S. has way more additives in their food than Europe does.”
“I think it’s a start, but I think they should even do more. We’re supposed to be the #1 country in the world and there’s countries that have a better food supply than we do. They’re healthier than we are,” said one man.
“This is important, it’s health,” said another woman. “I’m sorry, but I’m just going to say this bluntly: America’s fat.”
“It should be in the front. You should know [and] you shouldn’t have to search for it. It should be right out there for you,”
WBZ NewsRadio’s Chris Fama (CFamaWBZ) reports.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App | TikTok