Lawmakers, FDA Officials Eye Labels on Unhealthy Foods, Drinks

By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square

(Worthy News) – The Food and Drug Administration is proposing front-of-package warning labels that detail the calories, fat, sugar and salt content of processed food and drink products.

Sen. Bernie Sanders chaired a Senate committee where FDA officials testified on a proposal to mandate warning labels on foods and beverages linked to diabetes and obesity.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf and Deputy Commissioner Jim Jones of the FDA Human Foods Program testified at the hearing.

The meeting, led by Sanders, was titled “What Is the FDA Doing to Reduce the Diabetes and Obesity Epidemics in America and Take on the Greed of the Food and Beverage Industry?” and addressed the rising concerns over diet-related illnesses and explored whether stronger labeling requirements could influence consumer behavior.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Sanders said, suggesting strong warning labels and banning fast food advertising directed at children.

According to the American Diabetes Association, the total cost of diabetes in the U.S. was nearly $413 billion last year, increasing 27% over the past six years. Coca-Cola spent $327 million on advertising in the United States and earned more than $9.5 billion in profits.

Diabetes-by-the-numbers shows that 1.2 million Americans are diagnosed each year, and 97.6 million American adults are living with pre-diabetes.

Califf said the FDA is trying to do its part within its authorities and budget but that “successful change in the trajectory of our health depends on reaching societal consensus that we will do this together.”

Califf said there’s not much of a research budget as they aren’t a research industry and rely on other entities. He continued to push for funding during the hearing and said the food industry has research that they have no access to that could help them better understand the situation. Still, he reiterated that it’s in everyone’s best interest for the U.S. food supply to be a source of wellness.

The National Academy of Medicine recommended that the food and beverage industry be required to put nutrition labels on the front of their products that were easy to understand in 2010.

The agency had planned to make a formal proposal in October, a little over two years after the FDA mentioned implementing a new nutrition labeling system, missing several deadlines.

The FDA has yet to release a formal proposal.

According to the CDC, the rate of childhood obesity in America has tripled since the 1970s.

The hearing on the proposed labels come as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was named president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services secretary.

“Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump said in his statement.

Sanders said that for decades, Congress and the FDA have allowed large corporations to make money off their ability to entice children and adults to consume ultra-processed food and beverages loaded with sugar, salt and saturated fat.

Sanders pointed to the British Medical Journal, which states that ultra-processed foods comprise an incredible 73% of the nation’s food supply.

The FDA will conduct a workshop with the National Institutes of Health focusing on identifying key priorities and critical next steps for research on Ultra-Processed Food “to help accelerate higher-quality research.”

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