Product Reformulation in Response to the 2016 FDA Updated Nutrition Facts Label

Did the nutritional profiles of packaged foods sold in the US change after the adoption of the revised Nutrition Facts label?In this cohort study of 12 097 products sold in the US between January 2016 and December 2019, a staggered difference-in-differences analysis revealed that adoption of the revised Nutrition Facts label was not associated with meaningful changes in the nutritional profiles of packaged foods.These findings show the Nutrition Facts label has limited utility in encouraging reformulation of packaged foods to improve the healthfulness of the US food supply, suggesting the need for possibly stronger interventions, such as front-of-package nutrition labels.

Corresponding Author: C. Ross Hatton, PhD, MPA, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, 401 Park Dr, Ste 401, Boston, MA 02215 (ross_hatton@populationmedicine.org).

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