Spurred by increasing evidence linking diet and health, the Food and Drug Administration is preparing to require major changes in the nutrition information on labels of packaged foods.
The sweeping alterations would represent the biggest change in U.S. food labeling since the FDA first mandated nutritional information on many packaged foods in 1972.
Likely changes include adding key nutritional information, such as fat content; clarifying the often-confusing manner in which nutritional information is presented; and setting forth clear definitions in such murky areas as what makes a ``light`` beer light.
``If we`re going to say you can modify your diet and change your health, there needs to be a label that can be used,`` said Dr. Frank Young, the FDA commissioner. ``I believe the time has come for food labeling reform.``
In an interview, Young said regulators will look at five areas in which food labels can be made more useful and understandable. These are:
- Nutrition labeling. Present labels sometimes mislead consumers. For instance, because fat content is not required to be listed, someone buying a product labeled ``no cholesterol`` may not realize that it contains saturated fats. Like cholesterol, those fats can contribute to heart disease.
New labeling being considered would require listing fiber, cholesterol and saturated and unsaturated fat content of packaged foods, along with current requirements for some foodmakers to list calories, sodium and carbohydrates.
- Ingredient labeling. Ingredients currently are listed in the order of their predominance in the product. However, consumers cannot tell how much there is of each ingredient or category of ingredients. Changed labeling could require disclosing that various sweeteners listed separately add up to, say, 20 percent of a food`s total content.
Foodmakers also do not have to list the variety of vegetable oils used in a product, even though there is a dramatic difference in saturated fat content of each oil. New regulations could require foodmakers to show when they use highly saturated palm oil, for instance, and when they are using sunflower oil.
- Label format. The technical, small-print approach taken by some manufacturers may be replaced by a pie chart, color coding or other format that is easier for consumers to grasp without the aid of a magnifying glass or calculator. Young acknowledges that today`s format is ``almost unintelligible.``
- Food descriptions. At present, there is no standard definition of terms such as ``light,`` ``natural,`` or ``high-fiber``; regulators are considering establishing one. At the same time, requirements that items such as ice cream or mayonnaise contain a certain amount of butterfat or eggs may be eased as long as the label discloses what`s really in these products.
- Health claims. The FDA in 1985 tentatively allowed foodmakers to claim health benefits but provided few guidelines. Kellogg Co., for example, says its high-fiber cereal can reduce the risk of some kinds of cancer.
The FDA now could issue rules governing the kind of claims that can be made and establish penalties for false claims.
By September, the FDA hopes to announce a schedule for public hearings to discuss proposed changes. The earliest any new labeling rules would take effect is 1991.
Consumer groups, fearing that the food industry will attempt to exert political pressure on the FDA to ease some rules, are pushing for federal legislation mandating new labeling.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.), head of a key health subcommittee in the House, is planning to hold hearings and introduce legislation requiring comprehensive reform, congressional staff members say. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D., Ohio) is readying similar legislation in the Senate.
The hearings would mark the first extensive involvement by Congress in nutrition labeling in at least a decade.
``I think we`ve seen a drastic turnaround in the FDA and Congress on the need for food reform,`` said Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
``Food labeling, which was traditionally thought of as a consumer issue, has now become a public health issue and a priority of the health and medical communities,`` he said.
To take advantage of that shift, the center has organized a broad-based coalition, called the Food and Nutrition Labeling Group, to press Congress for change. Among the group`s 21 members are organizations as diverse as the American Cancer Society, the American Association of Retired Persons, the American College of Physicians and the National Parent-Teacher Association.
The group`s clout has been greatly boosted by three government-sponsored reports on diet and health issued in the last 18 months. For instance, a report issued a year ago by the U.S. surgeon general concluded that ``diseases of dietary excess and imbalance . . . now account for more than two-thirds of all deaths in the United States,`` and urged Americans to reduce their consumption of high-fat foods.
Meanwhile, two reports by the National Academy of Sciences, the most recent four months ago, also called for a reduction in dietary fat and urged the FDA to improve nutritional labeling of foods.
The three reports have put pressure on the FDA to take action, says Ellen Haas, executive director of Public Voice for Food and Health Policy.
``The surgeon general`s report and the (National Academy of Sciences)
reports were landmark reports confirming we do have policy consensus but we don`t have policy applications,`` Haas said.