- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
Research Urges FDA to Revamp Proposed Nutrition Labels
UC Davis study suggests "high in" labels are more effective than FDA's "nutrition info" box.
Mar. 25, 2026 at 10:48am
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
Researchers from the University of California, Davis, have published a study in The Lancet Public Health urging the FDA to revamp its proposed front-of-package nutrition labels. The study found that "high in" labels highlighting products high in added sugar, sodium or saturated fat outperformed the FDA's "nutrition info" box in helping consumers quickly identify healthier choices.
Why it matters
Overconsumption of added sugars, sodium and saturated fat is a major contributor to chronic diseases. The new front-of-package labels aim to help shoppers make healthier decisions, but the researchers argue the FDA's proposed design may actually cause some consumers to misperceive less healthy items as healthier.
The details
The FDA's proposal would require a small "nutrition info" box on the front of most packaged food, listing saturated fat, sodium and added sugars with a "low," "medium" or "high" rating based on the % Daily Value. However, the UC Davis researchers suggest a simpler "high in" label design that only flags products high in those nutrients. Their study found this approach helped participants more quickly identify healthier choices in virtual shopping scenarios compared to the FDA's "nutrition info" box.
- The FDA proposed the new front-of-package nutrition labels in January 2025.
- The UC Davis study was published on March 24, 2026.
The players
Jennifer Falbe
UC Davis associate professor of nutrition and human development, and corresponding author of the study.
Brittany Lemmon
A Ph.D. candidate in epidemiology at UC Davis and lead author of the study.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The federal agency that proposed the new front-of-package nutrition labels.
What they’re saying
“This label will be seen every day by millions of Americans for decades, so the FDA should pick the best label.”
— Jennifer Falbe, UC Davis associate professor of nutrition and human development
“A lot of people overconsume added sugars, sodium and saturated fat, so to be able to quickly see that 'high-in' label makes it very easy to say, 'maybe I should avoid that today.'”
— Brittany Lemmon, Ph.D. candidate in epidemiology at UC Davis
What’s next
The FDA is expected to finalize the new front-of-package nutrition labels in the coming months based on public feedback and research like the UC Davis study.
The takeaway
The researchers argue the FDA should adopt a simpler "high in" label design over its proposed "nutrition info" box, as the former was more effective at helping consumers quickly identify healthier food choices - a critical step in addressing overconsumption of added sugars, sodium and saturated fat.
