The way a food tastes and smells is important when it comes to choosing what we eat. Food companies engineer foods to ensure they taste and smell appealing by adding flavors and spices. These can be natural substances or chemicals synthesized in a laboratory. They can be a single ingredient—like vanilla extract, dried basil, or a specific chemical—or blends of many ingredients formulated and developed by professional flavorists.
Most alcoholic beverages sold in the U.S. are regulated by the Treasury Department and are not required to have nutrition or ingredient information on their labels.
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For 50 years, CSPI has worked to improve food safety, labeling, nutrition, and public health. Here's what we accomplished in 2023, thanks to our supporters.
The TRUTH in Labeling Act amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require standardized, interpretive nutrition labels on the front of food packages. The labels must include calories and interpretive information highlighting which products contain high levels of certain nutrients, such as added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat.
Juice and soda companies like Mtn Dew, SunnyD, and Simply are making versions of their beverages with alcohol. Here's why their marketing matters for consumers.
This resource is a transcript of the oral comments provided by senior policy scientist Eva Greenthal on behalf of the Center for Science in the Public Interest at the Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling Virtual Public Meeting on November 16, followed by a list of the dozens of public health and consumer organizations that have expressed support for FDA’s development of a mandatory front-of-package nutrition label.
Madison Avenue is alive and kicking, not just on TV but in ads, posts, and videos on social media, YouTube, you name it. Food companies make it so easy. They dress up refined carbs with a dash of vegetables. Or turn up the protein in candy. Or find a new ploy to sell water. What could go wrong?
Fact vs. FictionLindsay Moyer, MS, RDN, Marlena Koch
CSPI appreciates FDA’s efforts to encourage manufacturers to leverage food labels for the purpose of nutrition education with this draft guidance for industry titled "Questions and Answers About Dietary Guidance Statements in Food Labeling."
In this draft guidance, FDA establishes a new category of claims for food labeling (“Dietary Guidance Statements”) and defines Dietary Guidance Statements as statements in food labeling that “represent or suggest that an individual food or food group may contribute to or help maintain a nutritious dietary pattern” and provides examples of Dietary Guidance Statements.