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Nutrition labels on your favorite grocery items may soon sport a new look.
The Food and Drug Administration announced a new proposal Tuesday that would require food and drink manufacturers to place nutrition labels on the front of their products instead of the back.
The labels will also include new information about the product’s level of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars, categorizing them as “low,” “medium,” or “high.”
The point is to make it easier for people to choose healthier options at the grocery store, FDA officials said.
The levels are based on percent daily value, which tells how much a nutrient in a serving contributes to the total recommended daily diet, according to the National Institutes of Health. A “low” indication means the food or drink contains 5% or less of the recommended daily intake. A “high” indication is 20% or more and “medium” is everything in between.
“It is time we make it easier for consumers to glance, grab and go,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf. “We are fully committed to pulling all the levers available to the FDA to make nutrition information readily accessible as part of our efforts to promote public health.”
The proposal is the agency’s latest response to the rising rates of diet-related chronic illnesses such as heart diseases, obesity, cancer and diabetes.
Last month, the agency issued new label criteria to tell consumers which foods are considered “healthy.” To qualify for such a label, foods have to have limited amounts of saturated fat, sodium and added sugar and contain foods from major dietary groups such as fruits, vegetables, protein and dairy.
Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, said the FDA’s proposal for a front-facing nutrition label is “an important step to make nutrition information clearer and more accessible.”
“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 in a statement.
If the proposed rule is finalized, manufacturers will be required to add the updated nutrition label to their packaged food products within three years after the rule’s effective date for businesses with $10 million or more in annual food sales, and four for businesses with less than $10 million.
In a Tuesday briefing, FDA officials told reporters the new labels may prompt manufacturers to reformulate their products to meet a higher standard of health.
The American Beverage Association said it looks forward to working with the FDA and the incoming Trump administration to “empower consumers with nutritional information,” spokesperson William Dermody, Jr. said in a statement sent to .
“Consumers deserve clear and accurate information on their food and beverages so they can make choices that are right for them,” Dermody said.
The Food and Beverage Association of America did not immediately respond to ‘s request for comment about the label change.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected].
