What is one of the recent changes that have been made to food labels in the United States?

One of the recent changes that have been made to food labels in the United States is the requirement to list "added sugars." This change was implemented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help consumers understand how much sugar is naturally occurring in a product and how much has been added during the production process.

Here are the steps explaining the change:

1. In May 2016, the FDA announced the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease.

2. One of the major changes was the requirement to list "added sugars" on the label. This is in addition to the total sugar content.

3. The "added sugars" are listed in grams and as a percent Daily Value (%DV). The %DV tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet.

4. The decision to include "added sugars" on the label was based on the recommendation from the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which suggests that consumption of added sugars should be less than 10% of calories per day.

5. The new label was required to be used by large manufacturers from January 1, 2020, and by smaller manufacturers from January 1, 2021.

This change aims to provide consumers with more information about the nutritional content of the food they eat, which can help them make healthier choices.