--- title: Nutrition labels are updated with added sugars description: New nutrition labels on packaged foods feature added sugars and updated serving sizes the White House and FDA announces. canonical: https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-20T15:17:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:54.551Z article:section: Health og:title: Nutrition labels are updated with added sugars og:description: New nutrition labels on packaged foods feature added sugars and updated serving sizes the White House and FDA announces. og:url: https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Nutrition labels are updated with added sugars twitter:description: New nutrition labels on packaged foods feature added sugars and updated serving sizes the White House and FDA announces. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Your Nutrition Labels Are About to Get More Honest ## Video: Artificial Sweeteners Linked To Weight Gain In Infants [Watch (HLS stream): Artificial Sweeteners Linked To Weight Gain In Infants](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Or7KD7CQ.m3u8) (0:49)  _Published 2016-05-11_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 20, 2016 3:17 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 20, 2016 3:17 PM UTC After 20 years, nutrition labels on packaged foods will have a new look. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the White House announced final changes to nutrition labels, which will be required on packaged foods within the next two years. The long-awaited changes included a specific call-out for added sugars—sweeteners added to foods, as opposed to those that occur naturally, as in a piece of fruit—a larger font for the total number of calories, and serving sizes that are more in line with the amount of food a person is likely to consume. For instance, a 20 oz soda will now count as one serving, since that is how it is most likely to be consumed. Proposed changes were released July 2015 and after reviewing public comments and research, the FDA made changes to the labels. Serving sizes in general are being updated in order to show how much people actually eat. The labels and serving sizes were first put into place in 1993, when people ate differently than they do today, the White House reports. Certain nutrients that officials say are of public health importance will also be required, like vitamin D and potassium. Calcium and iron are also required, as they were previously, but the agencies say that Vitamins A and C are no longer required to be listed but manufacturers can voluntarily add them. “I am thrilled that the FDA has finalized a new and improved Nutrition Facts label that will be on food products nationwide,” said First Lady Michelle Obama in a statement. The changes must be made two years from May 20, 2016\. Businesses with under $10 million in yearly food sales will get an extra year. You can read more about the label changes [here](http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm385663.htm), and see the changes to the label below.  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/"},"headline":"Your Nutrition Labels Are About to Get More Honest","datePublished":"2016-05-20T15:17:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:54.551Z","description":"New labels included added sugars and more realistic serving sizes","url":"https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/","keywords":["Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nutrition/","name":"Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/","name":"Your Nutrition Labels Are About to Get More Honest"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Artificial Sweeteners Linked To Weight Gain In Infants","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Or7KD7CQ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-05-11T15:51:24.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Or7KD7CQ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/","duration":"PT49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4342961/new-fda-nutrition-labels-on-food/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```