GMA defends Facts Up Front, front-of-package labels

WASHINGTON — A report released by the Institute of Medicine suggested that front-of-package labels don't give clear guidance about a product's healthfulness.

The report, Examination of Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols, concluded that "it is time for a move away from front-of-package systems that mostly provide nutrition information on foods or beverages but don’t give clear guidance about their healthfulness, and toward one that encourages healthier choices through simplicity, visual clarity, and the ability to convey meaning without written information."

IOM also said suggested that the Food and Drug Administration "develop, test, and implement a single, standard FOP symbol system to appear on all food and beverage products, in place of other systems already in use."

In response, the Grocery Manufacturers Association defended Facts Up Front, an initiative co-developed with the Food Marketing Institute, which seeks to offer consumers a fact-based, front-of-pack nutrition labeling system. GMA said the system, launched in January, offers "a real-world program that delivers real value to real consumers in real time."

"Consumers have told us that they want simple and easy to use information and that they should be trusted to make decisions for themselves and their families," GMA said in a statement. "The most effective programs are those that consumers embrace, and consumers have said repeatedly that they want to make their own judgments, rather than have government tell them what they should and should not eat. That is the guiding principle of Facts Up Front, and why we have concerns about the untested, interpretive approach suggested by the IOM committee."

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