New Look Proposed For Nutrition Labels Will Highlight Calories and Sugar

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - The number for calories will be getting bigger, and a new category for added sugars will be included on the "Nutrition Facts" labels that appear on most food packages.

The changes proposed Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration would rely on a larger, bolder type to make the amount of calories in a serving more obvious.

Food labels would also display more realistic serving sizes that are closer to the amount of food that consumers typically eat, with less of an emphasis on fat content and more on added sugars and total calories.

"Not all sugars are created the same," said UCSF dietician Kathryn Ferraro.

"There's going to be a new line on the food label that has the added sugars, so as a consumer, you will be able to differentiate between naturally occurring sugars in things like fruit and yogurt, and then the difference between those and added sugars like high fructose corn syrup or sugars which we know are much less healthful."

Listen to KCBS' Stan Bunger and Susan Leigh Taylor's entire conversation with Ferraro about the benefits of the proposed new labeling requirements.