The FDA continues to seek better nutrition labeling 15 years after they introduced the Nutrition Facts labels that have become the industry standard in American groceries. Prompted by a need to combat inaccurate labeling by food manufactures, the FDA is taking steps to keep the public informed.

What started out as an effort to help consumers make smart decisions about their food choices, has become a battle to stay one step ahead of the advertising juggernaut. Knowing that consumers have limited time to digest the information on the food labels, they've taken to putting "cheat sheet" nutrition information on the front of the packages. However, smart consumers and the FDA have discovered that this information is often inaccurate.

The Washington Post reported that the first tipoff of the erroneous information came after a group of consumers noticed that high sugar cereals such as Cocoa Krispies and Froot Loops started to appear on grocery shelves with the Smart Choices green check-mark logo. The Smart Choices Program was created by ConAgra, Kellogg's and Unilever. Consumers, the FDA, and health organizations wanted to know why products made of fifty percent sugar were given the Smart Choice logo.

The deck is currently stacked against consumers when the companies can set up their own nutritional rating system. Smart marketers know that a "low fat" content or "high in vitamins" label can distract the consumer from important nutritional facts contained in the back label. Items like the saturated fat, sodium, and sugar are often ignored.

Stakes are high as health care costs continue to increase faster than inflation and two-thirds of Americans are classified as overweight or obese. Having accurate information about the food they buy will help consumers make healthier decisions. In an effort to fight back, the FDA will revamp the labeling system and impose a standardized system by the end of next year. They will release new standards for nutritional claims on the front of food packaging in the next few months. And finally, they plan to aggressively pursue companies that print false or misleading information on the front of their products.

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