To help consumers make better choices about what they eat, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing a new meaning of the word “healthy” on modern food labels. The present situation has been very chaotic because of the lack of regulations around this term leading to confusion and misleading marketing tactics.
For years, it did not matter if the nutritional content was healthy or unhealthy, food companies could throw a label of “healthy” on their products. This led to sugary cereals, processed snacks, and even candy being sold as “healthy” choices. Concerning are efforts by marketers who often target children and families with such campaigns.
In response to these concerns, FDA’s proposed definition sets specific requirements for foods labeled as “healthy.” Specifically, these requirements would primarily focus on reducing harmful fats, sodium levels and added sugars whereas ensuring fruits vegetables and whole grains are part of them.
The change of FDA icons for package design proposed starting in 2024.
This is good news. By defining the meaning behind “healthy” labeling practices, the FDA will ensure that consumers are more enlightened when choosing their diets. With regard to products labeled as “Healthy,” buyers have no doubt that they satisfy certain nutrition criteria rather than being deceiving marketing strategies.
However one must acknowledge that FDA’s definitional framework alone cannot be viewed as an ultimate solution. For instance critics argue that current limits regarding fat contents,sodium levels or added sugars should have been made tighter.They also argue that it does not take into account how good or bad the ingredients are including presence of unhealthy preservatives among others.
Still a product can be low in fat and added sugar while still high in refined carbohydrates or flavored with artificial sweeteners for example.Against all odds these components despite satisfying FDA’s suggestions for healthy labelling may lead to negative health effects.
Moreover, the proposal by FDA does not tackle the issue of serving sizes. Even where the product is “healthy”, one serving may have lots of calories, fats, sodium or sugar. A “healthy” label must therefore not mislead customers about portion sizes and should rather be read carefully in line with other food labels.
The Role of Packaging Design as a means of Encouraging Healthful Choices
Improved label design can also be part of clearer labeling standards that promote healthful choices. The following are some key factors to be considered:
1. Whole and unprocessed foods:
Focus on fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in packaging. Simplicity in item descriptions and images that will show natural constituents without artificial additives or preservatives.
2. Transparency regarding ingredients:
Ingredients should be easily understandable avoiding use of scientific terms or complex language on the lists. Consumers do not have to spend their time scrutinizing for wrong components within such lists.
3. Clear information on serving size:
The details about servings, for instance, calorie content, amount of fat as well as added sugars per serving should appear clearly on packaging materials. Furthermore, this data must be presented in an easy-to-understand manner so that it can help people make informed decisions quickly.
Use of color and design elements: Color and design elements can be so influential in shaping the choices made by purchasers. Packaging for healthy foods must incorporate colors that are associated with freshness, naturalness, and health.
Avoiding misleading marketing claims: Packaging should not employ words or images that are deceptive in terms of indicating a food is healthier than it actually is. Claims such as “low-fat” or “sugar-free” should be used appropriately when combined with other nutritional information.
By implementation of these design principles, packaging can be informative yet encourage consumers to make healthy choices.
Symbols on the front of the Pacakge Design
The FDA has also had a long history with these. In the early 1990s, as part of its work on Nutrition Facts labels for food products, it tried to use a number of different designs in order to test what people understood about them and found out that no one could understand any of them very well and so, therefore, the agency chose the one that was least misunderstood. Therefore, health organizations and food companies created badges or symbols that would enable customers to identify at first glance which foods were supposed to be good for their health.
By 2010 there were already over twenty such symbols on food packages. As such, FDA asked for the agency responsible for nutrition— Institute of Medicine (IOM) to conduct research on front-of-package labeling. The first report by this body assessed all those logos appearing on processed foods within their packaging materials whereby it advised FDA that they should settle upon one symbol representing calories, saturated fat, trans-fat as well as sodium. And sugars? According to IOM calories would cover it.
However, sugars did find their way into the second IOM report. They suggested a system in which zero/one/two/three stars could be awarded depending on how little undesirable nutrients were contained in a particular food product.
This made manufacturers of processed foods so uncomfortable that they immediately came up with ‘Facts Up Front’ food labeling system currently being used today.
Conclusion
The FDA’s proposed definition of “healthy” for food labeling marks a step forward toward promoting public health. Nonetheless, this is just one part of the whole picture. To make informed decisions about the food they purchase, consumers need information and critical thinking skills, and rely on reliable sources of information.