Pallone Unveils Bill to Provide Greater Transparency in Food Labeling

Long Branch, NJ — Today at Dean's Natural Food Market in Ocean, NJ, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) discussed the Food Labeling Modernization Act of 2018 (H.R. 5425). Pallone's bill would update front-of-package labeling requirements in order to prevent misleading health claims and require updates to the ingredient list on packaged foods, as well as other needed changes. Often, packaged food labels provide inadequate or misleading information that make it difficult for consumers and parents to make informed decisions. The legislation will establish a single, standard front of package nutrition labeling system in a timely manner for all food products required to bear nutrition labeling and will help consumers better understand what they are eating.

"Food labels play an important role in our nation's battle against obesity and diet-related disease," Pallone said. "Unfortunately, federal labeling rules have not kept up with the changing marketplace, and food labels do not always provide the clear information that today's consumers need to evaluate products and make healthy choices. The Food Labeling Modernization Act will address this problem by taking a comprehensive approach to ensuring consistency and clarity on all food labels, as well as setting reliable standards for what ‘healthy' and ‘natural' actually mean."

Obesity and diet-related disease are responsible for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in the U.S. each year, as well as increased health care costs. However, food labeling requirements do not always provide families with the information they need to make healthy choices. The majority of the food labeling provisions of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act have not been updated since 1990 and in some cases have not been changed since 1938. As a result, labels do not provide the information that today's consumers need to evaluate and compare products in order to make healthy choices.

In an effort to help consumers select healthy products, the Food Labeling Modernization Act's signature initiative will direct the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to establish a single, standard front of package nutrition labeling system in a timely manner for all food products required to bear nutrition labeling.

The bill will also strengthen current law to target trends in marketing that confuse or mislead consumers when they are attempting to compare food products. Specifically, the legislation will require new guidelines for the use of the words "healthy" or "made with whole grain."