New nutrition label has more information

Wouldn’t it be nice to actually know what goes into our favorite snack foods?

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration updated its nutrition label to “make it easier for consumers to make better informed food choices,” says the FDA website.

The updated label will be unveiled on food packages everywhere in July, and customers will immediately notice one of the differences.

The “calories” number is considerably bigger, drawing the consumer’s eye to the number before anything else.

It’s like seeing the crack in the teapot before the merchant tells you that it still works and that the crack is cosmetic.

Another new feature is “Added Sugars,” which tells of any sugar, such as corn sweetener, added by food companies as an flavor enhancement.

This will help consumers better pick food that stays within their calorie limit and still meets their nutrition needs, says the FDA.

Also, the new label has altered serving sizes to better reflect what is considered a serving.

For example, a can of soup will have a serving size of one instead of two because not many people open a can of Campbell’s tomato soup and eat only half.

More transparency in food labeling is always a good thing.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 6:01 PM with the headline "New nutrition label has more information."