A new FDA guideline set to roll out January 1, 2021 will require certain manufacturers to produce a new format of nutrition labels. The new labels will require two columns, one for single serving nutritional facts and one for entire package nutritional facts.

The new approach to labeling will hopefully allow consumers to assess their nutritional intake easier and with more accuracy. It will also protect manufacturers, as consumers will no longer be able to say they misunderstood the nutritional values on the label. I personally am excited for this change, as seeing a serving size breakdown with nutritional values is something I like to look at when eating or drinking packaged goods, especially when trying a new brand. I am not alone on this, for the vast majority of consumers, the nutrition facts panel and ingredient list are the most important sources for comparisons of products, whether in-store or online. The FDA knows that consumers are trying to eat healthy and doing things like this will make it easier to find healthy products.

Though this new FDA guideline won’t affect everyone (only companies that sell upwards of $10 million annually will need to make this change), it is indicative of the current trend of transparency in the food and beverage space.