US food regulators focus on sugar in nutrition overhaul

Macquarie

The Food and Drug Administration said a new nutrition-facts panel on the back of packaged food and beverages will list how many grams of sugar have been added by manufacturers, and what percentage of the recommended daily maximum that represents. The FDA’s decision to break out added sugar from the total sugar count already on packaging comes amid a yearslong campaign by the Obama administration to curb obesity, diabetes and other ailments. The new sugar rules have faced opposition from food and beverage companies, which say there is no difference between naturally present sugars and added sugars.
Manufacturers have two years to comply with the new regulation, though they could still challenge the changes in court. Those with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have three years. The spotlight on sugar could push dozens of major companies — including General Mills Inc., PepsiCo,Campbell Soup Co. and Coca-Cola — to further reformulate products. Source: www.wsj.com
The health implications of sugar consumption continues to be a prominent media issue with this latest announcement following on from the UK set to introduce a sugar tax from 2018.

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